These delicate and delicious crepes are heavenly and make a perfect brunch, light lunch or dessert. They are filled with caramelized apples with a brandy and maple syrup flavours. Many Hungarians would fill their crepes or Palacsinta with cottage cheese.
Whether you make these crepes savory or sweet, both are equally delicious. When my Mom made these crepes, she never used a recipe. It was alternating flour and milk until you had the right consistency and it worked very well, and that’s how I learned how to make crepes. Then when I made these crepes for my blog, I had to do a few test runs until I was able to get right measurements.
These crepes would be perfect for dessert as well. Make enough to freeze and serve them when you have unexpected company over. They will be so impressed! 🙂
HELPFUL TIPS
CREPES: when making crepes, it is important to be patient. By mixing the ingredients, it requires to slowly add the flour mixture to the milk mixture, and whisk to avoid any lumps. It is suggested to sift the flour, and that will help.
The trick to get thin crepes is the quickly tilt and rotate when pouring the batter into the hot fry pan or skillet. If you are fortunate enough to have a crepe pan, then it should be fairly easy for you.
COTTAGE CHEESE FILLING: this filling is very common in Hungarian cuisine. My Mom made this one often. It is flavoured with cinnamon and sometimes Mom would add raisins, which us kids were not in favour of adding to these already delicious crepes.
CARAMELIZED APPLES: was another favourite of ours growing up. We, as kids, liked this one better, as it became a favourite for breakfast, brunch and sometimes a dessert.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
CREPES
Eggs: depending on the size, I added 2 large eggs
Milk: I used 2-3% milk and organic; I think crepes deserve the best ingredients
Vanilla: adds a lovely flavour
Butter: is melted to add some richness and luxurious texture
Cinnamon: a delicious combination with apples
Toppings: I added walnuts, maple syrup, dusting of powdered sugar and dollop of whipping cream if so desired
FILLINGS
This recipe has two filling options, and often when we made sweet crepes, we would either fill them with cottage cheese or apples.
Cottage Cheese filling: 4% cottage cheese and cinnamon, the higher fat cottage cheese adds a rich and more dense consistency; drizzle with maple syrup and add assorted berries and icing sugar; sometimes Mom would add raisins with the cottage cheese and us kids would plead with her not to, for some strange reason we didn’t like it.
Caramelized Apples filling: our favourite apples for baking are golden delicious, ginger gold, royal gala and ambroisa; to flavour the apples, add maple syrup, brandy or bourbon, cinnamon and raisins if you desire and top with maple syrup, walnuts, and powdered sugar.
There are so many options to fill crepes with and whether you make savory or sweet. For dessert options, we often think of fruit with a cream such as whipping cream, cream cheese or a soft cheese, such as goat. Try my recipe Hungarian Crepes with Peaches and Walnut Praline, it’s so delicious and decadent!
HOW TO MAKE THESE DELICIOUS CREPES
Mixing, resting and cooking: Allowing the batter to rest for at least 1-2 hours or overnight, as this allows the air bubbles to relax to create a thin delicate crepe.
Using a wire whisk, beat eggs until frothy, stir in milk, vanilla and melted butter. I recommend to sift the flour, then add sugar and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg and milk mixture. Whisking to remove any lumps. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Making these crepe: Pour about a quarter of a cup into the hot fry pan or crepe pan, swirl the pan to allow the batter to spread creating that thin crepe. Once the top of the crepe is dry and lightly golden colour on the edges, about 1 minute, then flip the crepe over using a metal spatula, and cook the other side for about 15-20 seconds. They should be golden in colour and lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate, and continue with the remaining batter.
Filling: Cook the sliced apples in a skillet over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until the apples have softened. Add the brandy, about half way, and maple syrup and cinnamon just before serving. Then take about 2 heaping tablespoons and lay it on quarter of the crepe and fold twice.
Once filled, place on serving plate and garnish with powdered sugar, walnuts, maple syrup and whipping cream.
STORING
Refrigerate crepes in the airtight ziplock bag or container for up to 3 days. They store well in the freeze for up to 2 months. I suggest placing wax paper or parchment paper between each crepe and store in an airtight container.
Sweet Hungarian Crepes (Magyar Palacsinta)
Equipment
- skillet or crepe pan
Ingredients
Crepe Recipe:
- 2 large free-range eggs
- 1 1/3 cups organic milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp melted unsalted butter
- 1 cup unbleached organic all-purpose flour, sifted
- 2 tbsp raw fine sugar
- dash of salt
- 2-3 tsp unsalted butter or organic sunflower oil (to coat the crepe pan)
Cottage Cheese Crepes:
- 2 cups 4% cottage cheese
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- drizzle of maple syrup
- assortment of fresh berries
- icing sugar
Caramelized Apple Crepes:
- 8 golden delicious apples, peeled and sliced
- 1-2 tbsp brandy/bourbon
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- maple syrup for drizzling
- chopped walnuts to garnish
- icing sugar to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Crepes:
- Beat eggs with a wire whisk in a large bowl until frothy, Stir in milk, vanilla and melted butter.
- In a medium bowl, sift flour, then add sugar and salt. Gradually add to the milk mixture and continue whisking to remove lumps.
- Cover and refrigerator batter for at least 1-2 hour or overnight. This allows the air bubbles to relax and the dough to thicken as well this avoids the batter from lifting during cooking creating a soft thin tender crepe.
- Heat a non-stick crepe pan (or 10” fry pan is an option) over medium heat until hot.
- Lightly brush your pan with oil and pour ¼ cup of batter into pan, tilting and rotating the pan to coat the entire bottom.
- Cook until the top of crepe is dry and lightly browned on the edges, about 1 minute. Loosen the edges with a metal spatula and flip the crepe over. Cook for about 15 seconds and check by lifting side of crepe and it should be lightly toasted. Add to flat baking dish and continue with remaining batter. Continue to brush oil to pan as needed.
Cottage Cheese Crepes:
- Combine cottage cheese and cinnamon is a bowl. Add about 3 tablespoons per crepe and then roll. Place the crepes in a baking dish covered into a 275°F degree oven for about 20 minutes to allow the cottage cheese to warm.
- Plate the crepes and add fruit, maple syrup and a dust of icing sugar. Enjoy!
Caramelized Apple Crepes:
- In a large skillet, cook sliced apples over medium heat, just until softened, about 15-20 minutes. Add brandy or bourdon about half way of cooking. Then add maple syrup and cinnamon just before serving.
- Open crepe, and add 2 heaping tablespoons to a quarter of the crepe and fold twice. Place two crepes on each plate. Top with chopped walnuts, maple syrup, and icing sugar is so desired. Serve with whipping cream.
Nutrition
Growing up Mom’s sweet crepes were usually filled with caramelized apples shown above or cottage cheese and cinnamon shown below which makes a nice dessert, a light lunch or brunch. But today, there are several variations. I have made them for breakfast and filled them with scrambled eggs, spinach, vegetables and bacon. I have also made a savory crepe with ham, asparagus with a cream sauce. So the possibilities are endless.
Crepes are so versatile, there so many options to fill them with. The cottage cheese filling with cinnamon and topped with fruit is so delicious, and filling for a light lunch or breakfast.
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