These Protein- and Fiber-Rich Lemon Crêpes Are Easy Enough To Make in Your Sleep

For starters, Dippin’ Dots were developed by microbiologist Curt Jones in 1988 while finding a way to more efficiently feed cows using liquid nitrogen and discovered that he could apply the same scientific method to ice cream batter. Meanwhile, chocolate chip cookies were invented when Ruth Graves Wakefield, an American chef, used a Nestlé chocolate bar instead of baker’s chocolate (simply because she ran out) in her cookie recipe.

And as for crêpes, they might just take the cake for the best mistake of all time. According to French folklore, it’s believed that crêpes were born from a very fortunate accident when a home cook in Brittany, France accidentally spilled some buckwheat porridge from a kettle in the fireplace onto a flat cooking stone in the 13th century. As the saying goes: We always learn from our errors.

So, it pretty much goes without saying that we were thrilled to hear that on the latest episode of Alt-Baking Bootcamp, Elise Smith, pastry chef and recipe developer, shares how to make the best gluten-free lemon crêpes (ever!) with just a few ingredients and no special equipment. Trust: These will be on your brunch menu for years to come.

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Why we love these no-fuss gluten-free lemon crêpes so much

If you’ve had a crêpe before, you know that this pancake-like dish is absolutely delicious and incredibly versatile. The simplicity of crêpes makes them suitable for adding just about any topping (savory or sweet), like cheese, strawberries, or chocolate hazelnut spread. Plus, they're perfect for eating any time of the day—breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or all of the above. But, as much as we may love this dish, it may have seemed a little too daunting to whip together on an average lazy day…until now.

With a few genius tips and tricks from chef Smith, we’ve learned that making crêpes is far easier than we could’ve ever imagined. And turning them into a gluten-free treat is even simpler. She starts by adding six gluten-free-friendly ingredients—oat flour, coconut flour, eggs, unsalted butter, milk, and a pinch of salt—in a blender (hands free whipping = swoon) and blends the mixture together until smooth and creamy. That's it; batter's done.

Next, Smith chills the batter for about an hour in the refrigerator to set. Then she pours the batter onto a nonstick pan with a layer of melted unsalted butter to prevent it from sticking. And unlike other crêpes you may have seen made in the past, Smith explains that by spreading the batter along the edges of the skillet by simply rotating the pan, you don’t need any fancy batter-spreading tools or equipment. Truly, it’s no more difficult than making pancakes. Then, after the batter has had a few minutes to get nice and bubbly in the pan, Smith flips her crêpe over to brown the other side to perfection.

Now, the best part? The toppings, of course. To learn more about how chef Smith dresses up these perfect gluten-free crêpes, check out the full episode.

No-fuss gluten-free lemon crêpes recipe

Yields 4 crêpes

Ingredients
16 ounces (2 cups) milk
2/3 cup oat flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1 Tbsp unsalted butter (melted), plus more for greasing the pan
1/8 Tsp salt
2 eggs
1 lemon (or 1 Tbsp of lemon juice)
1 Tbsp confectioners’ sugar
Assorted berries

1. In a blender, combine milk, oat flour, coconut flour, melted butter, salt, and eggs. Starting on low speed, blend for about two minutes or until smooth and fully combined, slowly increasing the speed as needed.

2. Refrigerate the batter for one hour.

3. Preheat a nonstick skillet over low-medium heat, and grease generously with unsalted butter. Once the butter begins to bubble, slowly pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the center. Carefully rotate the pan so that the batter covers the bottom of the pan. Once the edges begin to golden, flip it over to cook the other side.

4. Once fully cooked on both sides, transfer it to a plate and let it cool. Once cool enough to handle, fold the crêpe into half and then half again to form a triangle. Assemble on a plate.

5. To garnish, squeeze lemon juice over the top, and using a fine-meshed sieve, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Add assorted berries, and sprinkle with more powdered sugar if desired.

Need more breakfast ideas? This vegan Dutch baby recipe might do the trick: