BIRTHDAY BREAKFAST : OLIVE OIL CREPES

We celebrated my husband, Adam's birthday on the weekend. Clementine and I had had the sniffles all week and it seemed Adam was going to miss out on his birthday, with the elaborate cake I had planned to bake and prep the night before. So that was put on hold for some simple yet dear to my French husband's heart- Crepes.
Now crepe batter is always best made the night before, and crepe batter contains butter and for the first time EVER I realised there was no butter in the fridge -nope, none, nada, zilch! YIKES! A stack of crepes with fresh fruit and homemade jam was going to be my get out of jail card for not only the absence of a birthday cake but for the snotty present Clementine and I had given him for his birthday. So.......I went to bed. Yep, sometimes its best to just sleep on it.

In the morning I gifted my husband with the best present any parent dreams of- a sleep in! and while stirring a pot of porridge I looked at the bottle of olive oil next to the stove and HELLO! I decided to quickly whip up some crepe batter and instead of melted butter, I used olive oil. Sorry French in-laws if this sounds ludicrous but hey I delivered a batch of crepes for my husband's birthday so that's a win when you've been on cold and flu tablets all week.

Practice does make perfect when making crepes but don't freak out thinking they'll stick to the pan or that they won't be thin enough. I assure you, you will get it by the third crepe and you get to snack on the dud ones while you cook the rest, so who cares if there are some fails along the way! Its all about finding the right heat setting for your pan and swirling the batter around quickly.  I used a medium 20cm non-stick frying pan and used a 1/4 cup of batter per crepe, measuring out your batter per crepe helps too. Adam LOVED them and he thought my crepes were pretty darn good so I was pretty chuffed. Oh and Clementine hoovered as many as Adam did but unlike her father she had also eaten a bowl of porridge about an hour before -what a little oinky!

Happy Birthday Hoobs, you are the best and I love you so. x

OLIVE OIL CREPES

recipe adapted from here

makes 16-18 crepes

3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
a pinch of salt
3 tbsp mild extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 cups milk (any kind you prefer)
1 cup flour
more olive oil for cooking

Place all ingredients in a blender or large measuring jug and shjooz with a stick blender or in a blender till...well....blended. There are to be no lumps!
Store the mixture in the fridge for at least one hour or up to three days, covered with plastic wrap.
When ready, remove the batter from the fridge and gather all your equipment (this will give time for the batter to come to room temp.)
Brush your pan lightly with olive oil using a pastry brush.
Have a plate ready for your crepes and either a large saucepan lid to cover them to keep them warm or a clean tea towel will do!
Heat pan over medium heat.
With 1/4 cup of batter in one hand and the saucepan handle in the other pour in the batter swirling it until you evenly cover the bottom of the pan.
Cook for about 2 mins until the top looks set and when you peek underneath the bottom is golden.
Flip it over using a spatula and cook for a few seconds (5-10)
Continue with remaining batter.
Serve with whatever condiments you fancy, lemon and sugar, jam, fresh fruit, honey, Nutella etc.