Discover my favorite crepe filling ideas for a perfect and delicious dessert crepe party! Jam, chocolate spread, lemon and sugar, you’ll sure find your favorite too!
As far as I remember, crepes have always been part of my life. As a French who grew up in France, I consider crepes almost like a lifestyle. You make them on a whim every so often, you bring them to kids parties, and you never ever miss Crepes Day, aka La Chandeleur, on February 2nd every year!
Yes, French people take crepes very seriously. I learned how to make them on my own when I was about 10, and I never ran out of ideas when it comes to crepe fillings. Crepes are so versatile you could use either sweet or savory fillings, but today we’ll focus on the sweet fillings, that are by far the most popular for a crepe party!
My favorite crepe filling ideas
As you can easily guess, there are endless possibilities when it comes to crepe filling ideas. The sky is the limit! Yet, most of the time we all tend to keep it simple, down to a few favorites. If you think about it, it’s a little bit like pancakes: we all love fancy pancakes once in a while, but on a regular basis we tend to stick to the basic plain pancakes served with maple syrup, blueberries and/or chocolate chips.
So instead of listing all the crepe filling ideas that come to mind, here are my top 5 favorite crepe fillings I always consider when making crepes:
1. Lemon & sugar
The classic crepe filling is sugar and butter, that melts instantly onto a warm crepe, freshly prepared. I use the same basis here, and add a squeeze of lemon juice and some lemon zest. It’s by far my favorite crepe filling, the one I can never get tired of!
2. Jam & whipped cream
Strawberry jam and blackberry jams are my favorite in crepes, but again any jam of your choice would work too (think apricot or orange marmelade for instance). Add a dollop of homemade whipped cream, and fold the crepes! To make whipped cream, simply beat heavy liquid cream with a few spoonfuls of confectioners’ sugar using a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Easy!
3. Hazelnut chocolate spread
All crepe lovers in France LOVE their Nutella crepe! And truly, it doesn’t get easier than that: simply fill your crepe with hazelnut chocolate spread and it’s ready.
4. Melted dark chocolate & nuts
Another all time favorite! Melt dark or semi-sweet chocolate, and spread onto your crepes with some toasted sliced almonds or other toasted nuts. If you feel extra hungry, add some sliced bananas too!
5. Salted caramel sauce
If you like your crepes sweet with a hint of saltiness, drizzle some salted caramel sauce all over your crepes before or after folding/rolling it. Delicious!
How to set up a crepe bar with all your fillings?
First thing first, make sure you check How To Organize a Successful Crepe Party; it will give you some great tips to master the art of crepes.
Once your crepes are ready, stack them in a plate covered with foil to keep them warm. Then it’s time to set up your crepe bars so that all your guests can fill their crepes with their favorite toppings. Keep in mind that people like to mingle around crepes, come and go grab one more crepe (the last one, always!), and explore the topping/filling ideas. For this reason, it’s important to keep all the options available for an easy access. Here are just a few simple things to consider:
- Use a large table or countertop, easy to access from all sides or almost.
- Distribute the crepes in 2 or 3 stacks throughout the table. Not only it makes them easy to access from each angle, but it also enables people to get crepes at the same time, and it’s also an occasion to mingle with each other.
- Place all the filling options in small containers (bowls, glass jars, etc.) with a spoon, a spatula or a knife when necessary.
- Try to arrange the fillings in 2 or 3 main categories placed next to each other, so that your guests can go from one station to another naturally. Example: place the main fillings in one category (sugar, jam, spreads, etc.) and all the add-ins in the next one (fruits and berries, whipped cream, confectioners’ sugar, nuts…).
- Don’t forget the drinks and the napkins!
Other crepe recipe ideas:
- Easy French Crepe Recipe
- Crepes Suzette
- Chocolate Praline Crepe Cake
- Saffron Crepes with Rum
- Salted Caramel Apple Crepes Rolls
- Spelt Flour Crepes
- Vegan Chocolate Crepes with Caramel Sauce
Basic Crepe Recipe + Filling Ideas
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 20 crepes 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: French
- Diet: Vegetarian
Discover my favorite crepe filling ideas for a perfect and delicious dessert crepe party! Jam, chocolate spread, lemon and sugar, you’ll sure find your favorite too!
Ingredients
Basic crepe recipe:
- 2 cup (250g) all-purpose flour*, sifted
- 1 pinch of salt
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup (50g) unsalted melted butter, slightly cooled
- 1 Tablespoon sugar (optional)
- 2 cups (500 ml) milk
- 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil, neutral in taste, for cooking
My favorite crepe filling ideas:
- Sugar + fresh lemon juice (+ lemon zest)
- Hazelnut chocolate spread (Nutella or similar)
- Melted dark chocolate + toasted hazelnuts/almonds/pralin
- Berry jam + whipped cream
- Salted caramel sauce
Instructions
For the crepes:
- Add flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs in the center, the slightly cooled melted butter, and sugar. Whisk vigorously starting from the center, and slowly start to pour in a little milk, mixing as you pour, to keep the batter smooth. Pour in the rest of the milk until it looks smooth. Cover the bowl and let sit for 2 hours.*
- Heat a 15 cm/6-inch crepes pan and grease with oil using a piece of paper towel. Pour in a ladle of batter by tilting the pan in all directions to distribute the batter well. Heat until the surface is cooked, then flip the crepe and cook the other surface for about a minute, or until the crepe becomes lightly blonde. Transfer to a service plate and cover with foil while you’re making the other crepes.
Filling ideas:
- Lemon and sugar. Spread a little bit of butter onto a warm crepe, then sprinkle sugar, add lemon juice, lemon zest, and fold or roll the crepe.
- Jam and whipped cream. Fill a crepe with strawberry jam or other berry jam of choice, add homemade whipped cream, and fold or roll the crepe.
- Chocolate hazelnut spread. Fill one crepe with your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread, and fold or roll the crepe.
- Melted dark chocolate and toasted nuts. Spread melted dark chocolate onto a crepe and sprinkle some toasted almonds/hazelnuts/pralin on top. Fold or roll it up, and enjoy!
- Salted caramel sauce. Drizzle salted caramel sauce onto a crepe, add a few toasted peanuts on top if desired, and fold or roll the crepe.
Notes
* If you run out of time, allow the batter to sit for at least 30 minutes. This will help you get lighter crepes in texture.
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Basic Crepe Recipe + Filling Ideas, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
lisa
Nice! I love the lemon idea, and it inspired me to do salmon and cream cheese 🙂 Thank you for the blog!