Crêpes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes

Article first published as Cookbook Review: Crepes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes by Martha Holmberg on Blogcritics.

I love crêpes so when “Crêpes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes” by Martha Holmberg came in for review, I grabbed it before anyone else could and I have to say, I sure wasn’t disappointed with the results that came from this cookbook. For the purpose of the review we are asked to test three recipes.

The first recipe I made was “Gluten-Free Rice Flour Crêpes” to see if they will actually resemble the wheat flour ones we are so used to having. To my surprise, they were no different than if I used gluten-based flour. The filling I made was “Chicken and Mushroom Paprikás Crêpes.” The filling is rich because of the sour cream and tasty because of the caraway seeds and paprika combination. I used a purchased rotisserie chicken as suggested and half cremini and half white button mushrooms. The filling was thick and remained as such after baking in the oven. I added a green side salad giving our dinner a perfect balance.

I had extra crêpes from the rice flour recipe so decided I’d try a sweet filling for next morning’s brunch. I made “Hazelnut Soufflé Crêpes with Raspberry Coulis.” Oh my!! The filling was awesome using hazelnut butter (I ground my own), eggs, sugar, and vanilla. The filling was light (because of the beaten egg whites) and oh so delicious. The surprising thing for me was how they puffed while in the oven. Once out of the oven I poured a generous amount of the raspberry coulis over the top. Paired with a steaming cup of coffee, this made the best brunch ever!

For the third recipe I tested the “Buckwheat Crêpes.” Again, like with the gluten-free crepes, the end result was better than I expected. The filling I used was “Hummus, Roasted Red Pepper, and Feta Crêpes.” Using previously roasted peppers with a generous portion of hummus and crumbled feta cheese, this recipe ended up very good as a light lunch. Because the recipe only made 4 crêpes, I added a green side salad making it a sizeable lunch. I put the leftover buckwheat crêpes in the freezer to use with my next recipe; I'm thinking of “Smoked Salmon Cocktail Crêpes.” I think the filling combination will go good with the buckwheat crêpes.

Yes, I'm pleased with “Crêpes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes.” The recipes are simple, and the ingredients would be available at any grocery store if not already in the pantry. If you are a crêpes fan, I encourage you to get this cookbook by Martha Holmberg. You will not only have a wonderful array of recipes, but you will also be pleased with the end results. By-the-way, if you’ve never made crêpes before, not issue at all; the beginning of the book gives tips and pictures of how to make them.


Crêpes: 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes
Martha Holmberg
Chronicle Books (2012)
ISBN 9781452105345
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (4/12)