Dessert Crepe Filling Ideas (includes recipe and video)
If you’ve never made crepes before you should give them a try. Crepes sound like such a fancy dessert, but they are really just thin pancakes. If you can make a pancake, you can make homemade crepes. This is one of my family favorites, one of those dishes that everyone likes that is good for special occasions.
The great thing about serving crepes is that they can be made ahead and served at room temperature. This makes them a great dish to make ahead for company. They also have the added bonus of LOOKING really impressive.
I will start by giving you a basic crepe recipe and tell you how the simple trick is to adapt it for sweet crepes and savory crepes. Then I’m going to share a bunch of crepe filling ideas you can try for desserts.
Do I Need A Crepe Pan?
You don’t have to have a crepe pan. I really like to make them in a crepe pan, but you can make them in a non-stick skillet. If you decide that you like making them, you can get an inexpensive pan on Amazon. Using a steel crepe pan vs. non-stick pan does allow you to get the pan a little hotter.
You don’t need the fancy spreader that you see when you look for the pan either. That’s not how Julia Child did it. Her method is used for authentic french crepes.
This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Ingredients for Crepe Batter (adapted from Julia Child recipe)
- 1 egg
- 2 egg yolks
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 TB sugar (use for sweet crepe recipe, omit for savory)
This is an easy crepe batter recipe and making the batter is so simple. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend well to form a smooth batter. If you don’t have a blender you can use a food processor or mixer.
For best results let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight. If you want to make crepes that can be used for sweets or savory fillings, leave out the sugar and add a pinch of salt.
How to Make Crepes
Remember how the first pancake never looks very pretty? The same is true for crepes, the first crepe is a throw away most likely.
Put your pan on medium-high heat. Add a tiny bit of ghee (which has a higher smoke point) to the pan and distribute evenly with a pastry brush. If you don’t have ghee you can use oil. As much as possible I try not to use any oils except olive oil and avocado oil. These don’t feel like they go with crepes, so I use ghee.
Ladle about 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan. Pour the batter into the center of the pan and swirl in a circular motion to coat the entire bottom of the pan with a thin layer of crepe batter. If you have a small hole you can get a dab of batter and fill it in.
Use a small spatula to loosen the edge (I like to use one that is like a cake decorating spatula but it’s not a requirement). The first side cooks for approximately two minutes, or until it is slightly brown. I think the easiest way to flip it is with your fingers. (see the video). Cook on the second side for approximately 1 minute and flip onto a cooling rack. Repeat the steps until you’ve used up all the batter.
When the crepes are cool separate them with a layer of parchment paper. If you aren’t planning to use them right away they can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container. I use a ziplock bag. Cooked crepes can be easily warmed in the microwave in 20-30 seconds, so they are a perfect for aquick dessert.
Now that you’ve made the crepes, here are eight easy crepe fillings.
8 Sweet Fillings for Crepes
You can’t really go wrong when it comes to dessert crepes. Many recipes call for using liqueur, but that’s not my preference. If you think you might want to set up a crepe bar, get ideas for that here.
- Fresh fruit filling – cut up strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries. Toss them with sugar to bring out the natural sweetness. You can either put the berries inside the crepe or fold the crepe into quarters and top with fruit. You can add whipped creme to the top, or a drizzle of chocolate sauce. This one requires no additional cooking. It’s quick and easy.
- Cinnamon sugar crepe – Smear the inside of the crepe with a thin layer of butter and sprinkle it will cinnamon sugar. You can either roll it, or I like to fold it into a quarter. This is another easy no-cook option.
- Cream cheese filling – This one requires a bit more time, but worth it. You combine equal parts of stiffly whipped cream and softened cream chees. I found this recipe, which called for 8 oz of each. Sweeten to taste. The recipe called for 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, but I used less than 1 cup. Add one reason on vanilla extract and I used the juice of one lemon. If you have someone in your family that loves cheesecake, they will like this one. You can top with nuts or chocolate syrup.
- Chocolate cream filling – Whip 1 cup of cream and add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2TB of cocoa powder.
- Baked apple filling – If you like apple, pie you can make a similar filling for crepes. Use granny smith apples, chop them into small pieces. Combine in a skillet with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Easy bananas foster (without flames) – Add bananas, brown sugar and butter to a skillet. Cook until warmed but not mushy. Use this as the stuffing for the crepe and top with whipped cream.
- Nutella – I hate Nutella because it is filled with crap ingredients. Palm oil is the second ingredient, this ingredient is banned in France. You can get the same flavor with Rawmio (which has actually nuts in it).
- Pumpkin spice – This one is good for fall. Whip 1 cup of cream to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/2 can of pumpkin puree whipped to stiff peaks with 1/4 cup confectioners sugar and 1/2 tsp pumpking pie spice. (filling inspired from this recipe).