Several origins for this tradition of Candlemas:

There is talk of an ancient Roman rite that resulted in torchlight processions in the fields to purify the land before sowing. It could aslo be a very old tradition that dates back to the first centuries of our era: surplus flour from the beginning of the year was used to make pancakes, a symbol of prosperity for the coming year.

What about the crepe ?

The crepe evokes the sun! What could be better than blowing up the crepe to encourage the sun to come back and hasten the arrival of spring? Know that in the past, if you wanted to be rich all year round, you would blow up crepes with one hand while holding a golden Louis in the other!

It doesn’t cost anything to try!

There are different recipes for sweet and savory crepes. There are those of our grandmothers whose secrets never been revealed, those we can find in the cookbooks and those of Odile and Isabelle, which you can find below
Try them all!

Odile’s Sweet crepe Recipe:

  • 4 cups of flour
  • 6 eggs
  • 3/4 cup of sugar
  • 8 tbsp of butter
  • 2 bags of vanilla sugar
  • 1 liter of milk
  • Add 1 glass of rum or Ghent-Marnier if you would like a stronger flavor.

Mix flour, eggs, butter, sugar and gradually add the milk, taking care not to make lumps, the dough must be fluid.
Let stand for at least 1 hour.

It is a Breton specialty in France, so the ideal is to own a billig/crepe maker or griddle as in Brittany, but a crepe pan will do the job as well too.

You can try to blow-up the crepe, or just use a spatula to turn it over and cook both sides of the crepe, it should be golden on both side, before garnishing it.

The most classic garnish and probably the best is butter (salted) and sugar! But use your imagination and use your favorite garnish: lemon, chocolate, fruit, ice cream…

Recipe of the crepe dough of Isabelle:

Isabelle sweet crepe recipe:

Makes 16 crepes:

  • 250 gr flour
  • 1/2 liter of milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon of oil

For a fluffy and a stronger flavor add beer

Prepare the dough the same way as the recipe above. Make sure the dough is lump-free.


Odile’s buckwheat “galette” savory crepe

  • 400 gr buckwheat flour
  • 1 L of water
  • 2 tablespooons coarse salt

If the crepes are made in a crepe pan and not a crepe maker (billig in french) add 1 egg.
Prepare the dough the same way as the recipe above. Make sure the dough is lump-free.

Garnish with whatever you like: ham, egg, cheese, mushrooms, vegetables…

You can find buckwheat flour in most grocery stores; Red Mill is a very good brand. PCC has some organic brand and some in the bulk section (perfect if you just want some for the crepe). Or, for the
French brand Treblec, online: Yümmy Bazaar , Simply Gourmand or Amazon.

Traditionally, cider is the best drink to savor crepes, it is also a specialty from Brittany or Normandy, the cuvée Dan Armor Trader Joe’s (Poiré also available) is a good value for money.

Washington is a big producer of apple and has a lot of different varieties, therefore we are starting to see more cider producers. One excellent and in Vashon Island, WA: Dragon’ s Head Cider.

Emmanuelle