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Custard pancakes with holes in boiling water and milk

Thin Custard Crepes with Lacy Holes

A recipe for thin, delicious crepes full of tiny holes! These lacy custard-style crepes cook up easily from the most basic pantry staples. They're wonderful on their own, but they're also sturdy enough to fill and roll for all kinds of appetizers.

Natalia Tsybulskaya

Recipe author

Custard pancakes with holes in boiling water and milk

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Flour

Milk

Eggs

Sugar

Salt

Vegetable oil

Water

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 17 % 5 g

Fats 17 % 5 g

Carbohydrates 66 % 19 g

149 kcal

GI: 5 / 0 / 95

Cooking method

Cooking time: 40 min

Step 1:

How do you make thin custard crepes with lacy holes? Start by gathering your ingredients. Use whole milk — the higher fat content makes for much tastier crepes. Go with large eggs. The oil can be anything from sunflower to walnut oil. I also recommend having everything at the same temperature, so take the milk and eggs out of the fridge ahead of time and let them come up to room temperature along with the other ingredients.
Step 2:

Whisk the eggs well together with the oil, sugar, and salt. Pour in the milk. If you're making sweet crepes, this is the point to add a little vanilla or cinnamon — it makes them wonderfully fragrant.
Step 3:

Sift the flour. Don't skip this step — sifting works air into the batter, so the crepes turn out lighter. Stir until there are no lumps. Keep in mind you may need a little more or less flour than the recipe calls for; go by the consistency of the batter rather than the exact amount.
Step 4:

Pour in the boiling water and mix well once more.
Step 5:

The batter comes out fairly thin, but smooth and silky.
Step 6:

Cooking crepes takes a little know-how. A few pointers: use a pan that conducts heat well — cast iron is ideal, though ceramic works too. Grease the pan with oil using a pastry brush or half an onion or potato. Get the pan good and hot — this is essential! Pour in a small amount of batter and tilt the pan to swirl it into a thin circle. Cook for 2–3 minutes per side.
Step 7:

For an even more tender texture, brush each crepe with a little butter as it comes off the pan. Serve them right away while hot! Enjoy!

Crepes made this way come out thin and riddled with holes — they're the best! And despite how delicate and see-through they are, they're surprisingly sturdy, which makes them perfect for wrapping around any filling or rolling up into blintzes and other appetizers.
Keep in mind you may need a little more or less flour than the recipe calls for. Go by the consistency of the batter rather than the exact amount.
One thing to remember: the wrong pan can ruin even the best recipe. Choosing the right skillet for the job really does make a difference.
Every oil is only good up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and form harmful compounds. It's worth knowing the smoke point of your oil and picking the right one for frying.