The Top 6 Best Crepe Makers for Perfect Crepes

What are Crepes?

A crepe is essentially a thin pancake. In its most basic form, a crepe has flour, water, and salt. You cook it in a pan with butter or oil and use a scraper to flatten it out. Once formed, the crepe is folded and stuffed.

Crepes originated in Bretagne in the 12th century. This event coincided with the introduction of buckwheat to northwest France. The earliest crepes utilized buckwheat, water, and salt instead of white wheat flour to create a tasty treat.

One of the best aspects of the crepe is that you can make it savory or sweet. Sweet crepes employ a spread of icing sugar, jam, fruit puree, honey, or chocolate. The spread is topped with dry ingredients like coconut, almonds, sugar, or cinnamon. You can also fill crepes with fruits, whipped cream, or cream cheese. Savory picks include eggs, cheese, veggies, and meat.

How to Make Crepes

The easiest way to make crepes is with a crepe maker. You will need a crepe maker, a crepe spreader, a spatula, a mixing bowl, a hand mixer, a ladle, and a pastry brush.

The base ingredients include flour, eggs, and salt, but you can add milk, butter, and sugar. They taste fantastic with a splash of vanilla extract or orange flower water. You will also need an assortment of fillings and toppings.

For griddle crepes, you will need to turn it on medium heat. As it fires up, mix the flour and eggs well. Then pour in the milk to achieve a thick consistency. Here you can add the sugar and flavoring.

Now that you have finished your batter, you will need to brush the griddle with melted butter or oil. Pour the crepe on a griddle with the ladle, and use the crepe spreader to smooth it out. Try not to break the circle and maintain the evenness of the crepe.

Once you see bubbles forming on the crepe, poke the edges with a spatula. When ready, you can lift them. Slide the spatula under the crepe, lift, and flip it upside down. The time to cook varies between crepe makers.

You can either fill up the crepe on the griddle or your plate. You should fill savory crepes while hot to melt the cheese, but you can fill sweet crepes up anywhere. Move quickly to avoid overcooking your food.

You can fold the crepes by rolling them up, folding them in half, or attempting a triangle shape. To finish them off, sprinkle some cinnamon or powdered sugar on top, add some whipped cream, or maybe a chocolate drizzle.

A winning combination we love is these lemon and honey crepes. They don’t take long to prepare, and they make a scrumptious breakfast.

What to Look for When Deciding on a Crepe Maker

There are several factors to keep in mind when deciding upon the best crepe maker for your needs which we’ll review now.

Type

There are three types of crepe makers to use at home: crepe pans, electric crepe makers, and portable crepe makers.

Crepe pans have a small size, making them easily storable. They provide excellent heat control to cook the crepes to a crisp, golden brown quickly. Pans also make it a breeze to drip off excess butter or oil, and you can cook other things on them.

Electric crepe makers work well for making multiple crepes at a time. These are some of the largest crepe makers, yet they are affordable and lightweight. The biggest issue is their temperature control, but they come with nonstick surfaces for easy cleaning and maintenance.

Portable crepe makers work best if you struggle with spreading and flipping the batter. They cook evenly, require no flipping, and keep the crepes thin. These makers heat quickly, but their highest temperatures are lower than their standard electric counterparts. While they have wipeable surfaces, the gaps between the surface and handle make them challenging to clean.

Size

The best crepe pan or maker will have a size between 7.5 and 16 inches. For beginners, their best bet is to use a 10 to 12-inch pan. To spread the batter, they can pick up the pan and rotate their wrist to spread it evenly over the surface.

Versatility

Choosing the best crepe pan provides more versatility. You can easily use it for other applications, like frying eggs or making pancakes. Many electric crepe makers allow you to use the surface like a griddle. The versatility depends mainly on the size.

Material

Crepe pans often come in nonstick, cast-iron, or enameled cast iron. Cast iron heats faster and hotter than nonstick pans, but they are heavy and have rust issues. Nonstick lets you readily flip your crepe and is less likely to burn your food.

The best electric crepe maker surface will feature nonstick aluminum plates that you can wipe clean without damaging the parts. Portable crepe makers are also typically made of nonstick aluminum, offering the same wipe-clean capabilities as standard electric ones.

Cost

Crepe pans usually cost $30 to $40 because they are thin pans with no intrinsic heating properties. Electric crepe makers vary drastically in price depending on the size and quality.

Larger and more efficient models can cost hundreds, but you can find cheaper ones. Highly rated portable crepe makers cost a few hundred, but you can find them for a low price as well.

Keep in mind that in terms of electric-based crepe makers, you get what you pay for. If you are willing to shell out $200 for one, you will likely get a more durable product that cooks better than the $30 options.

Top 6 Crepe Makers

Below we have rounded up six of the best crepe makers available today. All of them can make amazing additions to your kitchen, depending on your needs.