Easy Blender Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Crêpes (with Cinnamon Apples)

I grew up in a “breakfast” household. I’m pretty sure we never made pancakes from a box, and Eggo waffles didn’t enter my Mom’s freezer until the grandchildren came along! Crêpes were always special, though. We didn’t generally eat them at home every weekend, like we did pancakes, bacon and fluffy scrambled eggs. We waited until we ate out to get this, which as any child of the 70’s and 80’s remembers, was not a whole lot! Some of my earliest memories are of going to the Magic Pan in New Jersey with my Mom and grandmother. It was always special and delicious, and I guess because of that I didn’t think making crêpes was a thing you did at home. 

I’m here to tell you that you CAN make crêpes at home! On a regular Sunday and on a whim. Even better, the leftovers (if you have any), are great during the week with just 30-45 seconds in the microwave, too. And they don’t have any preservatives or chemicals like the ready made ones you buy on the grocery store. 

This recipe came about on my quest for healthier weekend breakfast options. Hear me out on this one! My grocery store had Whole Wheat Pastry Flour one day, which is truly the Holy Grail in Hong Kong. I decided that crêpes were the perfect use for this special treat, and I have been making this recipe ever since. They are wonderful with berries or peaches and powdered sugar. They are fantastic with cinnamon apples. They are simply delicious with a squeeze of lemon and either powdered or regular sugar. When I have no fruit, raspberry jam is my favorite filling. Keelin loves bananas and chocolate sauce with hers, and we have heard great things about Nutella. (Nut allergies keep us from trying that one!) In our house, whipped cream is always served, but obviously that probably takes them completely away from healthy and into dessert territory, which they are great for, too. 😉

Getting the hang of crêpes does take a little practice, but I promise once you master it, you will be making them all the time! The key is to figure out the correct amount of batter for your pan, and duplicate that every time. I use a 1/4 cup dry measuring cup for my nonstick pan, and a fish spatula for flipping them. 

I honestly usually serve crêpes with berries because it is quick and we almost always have them, but I woke up yesterday and realized apples were the only fruit we had and I figured they would be a perfect fall option. I was right, and I can see serving this version for dessert, too!

I am going to go step by step with this recipe more than I usually do because there is a bit of a technique, but feel free to skip down to the recipe if your crêpe skills are already on point. 

Prepare the apples first. Peel and core 4 apples and cut them into thin slices. Place in a bowl and combine with 6 T brown sugar (or to taste), 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Toss well to combine and coat the apples completely. Melt 1 T butter in medium skillet – preferably one that fits all the apples pretty much on a single layer. Add the apples and 2 T  water to the skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft to your liking, adding more water as needed. (I probably ended up adding a few more tablespoons.) Since there were only three of us eating, I halved the apples, but I won’t to that next time! They were so good that we all would have loved more. 

While the apples are cooking, melt 3 T butter in a small saucepan or the microwave. (If you use the microwave, be careful as butter explodes and becomes a splattery, hard to clean up mess. Melt at short intervals like 20-30 seconds each and put a cover or paper towel over it.) Next, combine 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (I like Bob’s Red Mill), 3 large eggs, 1 1/2 cups milk (I prefer full fat/whole) and 1 tsp sugar. Blend on high for about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and bottom to lift any stuck flour and blend again for about 30 more seconds until it has the consistency of heavy cream. 

Remove the blender jar from the base. You can make the crêpes immediately, or you can put the whole jar on the fridge for the next day. This is especially nice if you have houseguests. Just make sure to blitz it again in the morning for about 30 seconds as the mixture will have settled.

Get ready to cook! Find the pan you are going to use. The pan I like is a nonstick one that I think I got for free during one of the Hong Kong supermarket promotions. It is 9 3/4 inches/25cm across the top and 7 1/4 inches/18 cm across the base. Turn on your burner to medium and heat the pan. You need to wait until it is hot so give it a minute. While you are waiting, prep the batter for the first crêpe. I use a 1/4 cup metal dry measure for my pan, but you may need a bit more or less. The key os finding a vessel that holds the correct amount for your pan so it is (pretty) consistent every time. 

Your pan should be hot by now. Use a pastry brush (I like the silicone ones) to brush a tiny bit of melted butter on the pan. It should sizzle a bit but not that much, so reduce the heat if needed. REMOVE the pan from the heat and get ready to pour the batter in the pan. You are going to pour the batter on the middle, or even a bit toward the side and then swirl the pan quickly but gently to coat it completely with a thin layer of batter. This the part that takes practice. I have included a video below. Most of the crêpes I made without being videoed were much better (figures!), but you can see that of you do end up with a little hole, it is fixable and not really visible on the finished crêpe. Cook for about 1 minute until the edges start to peel away from the pan. Gently flip and cook for another 20-30 seconds. Remove from heat to a serving plate. 

A few things to note:

1. The first crêpe is usually a disaster in terms of looks. I don’t know why, but almost every recipe for crêpes says that and I have definitely found it to be true. 
2. Some recipes say to discard that ugly crêpe. I was taught never to throw away food so I make it a snack for while I am cooking with a squeeze of lemon and a dusting of powdered sugar! (See below for the perfect container for this.)
3. I stack my crepes directly and top of each other and serve them that way. I cover leftovers with plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for a few days. I don’t have any trouble with them sticking together. If you want to freeze them for keeping beyond a few days, I would recommend putting them in a closed container with parchment or waxed paper between them. 

Hopefully you have enlisted a helper to set the table and get all the condiments ready – lemon wedges, jam, powdered sugar, granulated sugar, berries, etc. Transfer the cooked apples to a bowl and you are ready to eat. 

I hope you enjoy these for breakfast in your house. Or if you are like me and not really a morning person, for lunch! They even make a nice breakfast-for-dinner, but I would probably add some bacon or sausage since they are on the lighter side in terms of being filling. 

Have a great week and see you next Monday!

Below are some of the tools I used to make these crêpes. These are affiliate links so I do earn a small commission if you order them.

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Easy Blender Whole Wheat Pastry Flour Crêpes (with Cinnamon Apples)

Crêpes are not as hard to make as they seem, I promise! They are a fun breakfast option because you can put out lots of fruit and toppings like chocolate sauce and whipped cream and everyone can make their own! My family didn’t even notice that these were made with whole wheat flour, just make sure you use pastry flour as it is very different from the other kind of whole wheat flour. It is probably not traditional, but I personally find a blender is the easiest way to make crêpe batter. You can even make it in advance and store it in the blender container in the fridge and just give it another quick whiz before you cook the crêpes. Cooked crêpes also keep in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze them for longer storage.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Ingredients

Cinnamon Apples

• 4 apples peeled, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 6 Tbsp brown sugar or to taste
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 2 T water + more as needed

Crêpes

• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• ⅛ tsp kosher salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 ½ cups milk whole preferred
• 3 Tbsp butter divided

Serve with with (choose what you like!)

• Lemon wedges
• Raspberry, strawberry or apricot jam
• Sliced strawberries, peaches, bananas or other fruit
• Chocolate sauce
• Whipped cream
• Sugar powdered or granulated
• Nutella

Instructions

Cinnamon Apples

• Peel and core 4 apples and cut them into thin slices. Place in a bowl and combine with 6 T brown sugar (or to taste), 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. Toss well to combine and coat the apples completely.
• Melt 1 T butter in medium skillet – preferably one that fits all the apples pretty much on a single layer. Add the apples and 2 T water to the skillet and cook for 10-15 minutes until the apples are soft to your liking, adding more water as needed. (I probably ended up adding a few more tablespoons.)
• Keep warm until ready to serve.

Crêpes

• Add flour, sugar, salt, eggs, milk and 1 T of melted butter to the jar of a blender. Process on high until all ingredients are fully combined and the consistency of heavy cream. I usually blend for 1 minute and then scrape down the sides and blend for another 20-30 seconds.
• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium to medium high heat. I use a 10 inch skillet, which produces a crepe that is approximately 7 inches and find it is perfect.
• Brush some of remaining melted butter on the pan with a silicone pastry brush. Lift the pan and add 3-4 T batter (I use a ¼ dry measuring cup) to the middle of the pan. Working quickly, swirl it around to cover the entire pan evenly with a thin layer of batter. (See video.) You can add a tiny bit more to cover any holes if needed.
• Return pan to the heat and cook for approximately 1 minute until the edges start to curl and you see a tiny bit of browning on the edge. (You can lift a bit of the crepe with a spatula to see if it is browning yet. I find a fish spatula works best.) Flip the crepe over and heat for approximately 30 seconds on the other side. Note: Depending on your stove and what type of pan you are using, the cooking could take more or less time. Also, the first crêpe is usually a disaster and not pretty at all! Do not panic. This is totally normal. It generally tastes fine, so you can eat it as a snack or give it to a hungry family member, or you can discard it.
• Remove to a plate and repeat until the remaining batter is finished. (Note: I use a dinner plate and slightly overlap the crêpes in a circle and find I don’t need to use parchment paper between the layers even if I put them in the fridge, but if you are freezing them, you should slack them evenly between pieces of parchment.)
• Serve immediately with any or all of the suggested toppings, putting the items in the middle of the crêpe and rolling each side over to create a sleeping bag shape. You can put additional items on top to make it pretty. Enjoy!