La Fête de la Chandeleur – National Crêpe Day!

[Updated February 2024]

Tradition – L’histoire de la Chandeleur

Vive les crêpes! Every year on February 2nd, the French celebrate La Chandeleur aka La Fête de la Lumière or Le Jour des Crêpes with a good batch of homemade crêpes made in a variety of ways. So get ready to toss and flip your crêpes! “Faîtes sauter vos crêpes” ! Originally, this holiday was a Christian tradition known as La Chandeleur or Candlemas in English from the word candle or chandelle in French. La Chandeleur is the 40th day of the Epiphany season. The crêpe shaped like a sun represents the coming of warmer days and light and was made with the first wheat harvest. This French holiday also coincides with the American Ground Hog Day when the groundhog will predict the return of sunny days or a longer winter!

“À la Chandeleur, l’hiver cesse ou reprend vigueur!”

The Recipe – La Recette des Crêpes

Sweet or savory, crêpes are always a favorite treat or quick meal in any French household. There’s nothing easier than making crêpes. Here’s a basic recipe for about a dozen crêpes:

2 cups Flour (250g)

4 eggs

pinch of salt

1.4 cup melted butter (50g)

2 cups of milk (1.2l)

2 tbs sugar

Your choice of splash of vanilla extract, orange blossom, and/or rhum

Making crêpes is all in the wrist or the tour de main. The first part is to make a well in the bowl with the flour combined with salt and slowly add the milk, eggs, and melted butter. Your batter must be light and silky and not like a pancake mix. To flavor your batter you can add some vanilla extract, some orange blossom de la fleur d’oranger, or a splash of rhum! Let the batter rest a bit.

The second part is in the crêpe pan. Make sure it is well heated, hot, and well greased with butter or a bit of oil. You can also invest in an electric crêpe machine if you plan on making a lot, but you won’t be able to flip your crêpes!

Let each crêpe cook a little minute une petite minute on each side until the borders are golden and hop, toss, and flip your crêpe in the air like a pro! Et voilà!

Sweet & Savory Crêpes

crepes-et-confiture-de-fruits-rouge — Crêpe à la confiture de fruits rouge

The best crêpes are homemade, so be creative! Have a crêpe night with tons of different fillings! make them sweet with sugar, jam, and of course with bananas and Nutella, or make them savory with shrimp, ham, cheese, chicken, or lobster! Pourquoi pas!?

crepes-strawberry-banana — Crêpe au Nutella et aux fraises, banane

Vanilla-Crepes-with-Nutella-3_2 — Une beau dessert

Crêpes are delicious au naturel because they are already quite fragrant with the fleur d’oranger or lemon zest and buttery, so just add a spoonful of sugar, fold or roll, and enjoy your crêpe au sucre. Try a dollop of jam in your favorite flavor fraise, myrtille, framboise, and you’ll have a sweet crêpe à la confiture. Prefer chocolate? Just add Nutella and bananas for crêpe au nutella.The queen of crêpe is called Crêpe Suzette which is a crêpe heated and smothered in butter, sugar, and orange zest flambé in Grand Marnier liquor.

Crêpes are delicious as a dessert but also make a delightful lunch or dinner and the recipes are endless here are a few ideas that I love crêpe au fromage, crêpe au jambon, crêpe au poulet et aux champignons à la crème ou à la Béchamel, crêpe au crabe… Miam, miam! The possibilities are endless.

And finally, a very important question how do you prefer to eat your crêpe? Do you prefer to roll or fold your crêpe? Today and any day is a great day to have a crêpe party!