SYLVIANE NUCCIO

La Chandeleur Crêpes Day In France

February 1, 2013 French Cuisine

crepeChandeleur400Like many traditions in France, la Chandeleur, a holiday celebrated on February 2nd has both pagan and religious backgrounds.

la Chandeleur is both a mixture of the  commemoration of “the light” and the presentation of Jesus to the temple.

The name ‘’Chandeleur” comes from “chandelles” which is the French word for “candles” representing light.

As all French traditions go it’s also a good occasion to eat something.  in this case, Chandeleur is celebrated with crêpes.

For those of you who don’t know, the crêpe is the French version of the pancake, but it’s very thin and supposed to be filled and rolled or folded to be eaten. crêpe also has a finer taste to it than pancake.

It is also said that the crêpes being round represents the shape of the sun.  It’s no coincidence that la Chandeleur happens to be at the time of the year where the day light is starting to increase noticeably.

It’s also winter sowing season, and the excess flour was used to make those crêpes which were also a symbol of prosperity for the still new year.

My Crêpes Recipe

For me and this blog, la Chandeleur is also of course the perfect occasion to give you my crêpes recipe.

Crepe Maison

 

Ingredients

  • 250g flour
  • 4 eggs
  • Half a liter of milk (about two cups)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 50 grams of butter
  • 50 grams of sugar
  • 2 coffee spoon of vanilla extract
  • half a cup of rhum (rum) or beer (optional)

Melt the butter on very low heat. Mix the salt with the four. Heat up the milk lightly until warm.

Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, the sugar, and the butter as you stir vividly with a hand whisk or an electric one (I prefer using a hand whisk for crêpes myself).  Then, add the milk little by little as you stir.  Then, add rhum or beer or none as you wish. Rhum gives a very good taste to the crêpes, and beer makes them very light.

Then, let the mixture sit for about an hour at room temperature before making the crêpes.

See the video below for a step by step.

Once your crêpes are ready and cooled down a bit you can fill them with sugar, jam, honey, maple syrup, chocolate past such as Nutella, or what ever floats your boat. I also love them with nothing at all.

Hope you will enjoy your crêpes this coming up Chandeleur, tomorrow, February 2nd!

I hope you enjoyed…. Let me know in the comment area!

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25 thoughts on “La Chandeleur Crêpes Day In France”

  1. Yum, I love that every French holiday comes with food 🙂 I also love crepes! When I was in Paris I remember that was one of the things I ate every day. Whatever was in them, didn’t matter I ate them all. I have tried to make them a few times too but usually I make a mess and they fall apart and ooze all over the place. Although I never did make them with rum. That sound delicious! Will have to try your recipe and see how it goes. Thanks!
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    1. Hi Carolyn,

      Once you get the hang of it it’s easy. If the preparation is made right, and you use a non stick pan that you oil if necessary they shouldn’t fall apart.

      For some weird reason the first crepe is always the thickest and less attractive, but the others should be just fine.

      Hope you’ll try again.

  2. Hi Sylviane,

    Thanks for sharing this holiday and especially your recipe for crepes. I love to learn new traditions. Better yet, traditional food! I think that if we all shared the food with traditions in this world, it would be a better place.

    Donna

    1. Hi Donna,

      Yes, the food is the best part of it, isn’t it 🙂

      Thanks for coming to this post, as always.

  3. Hi Sylviane

    I love French crepes and I like that they are thin, I am not a fan of those stodgy thick pancakes. The recipe sounds great. I did not watch all the video but loved listening to the beautiful sound of the French language. I am sure I have said to you before it is my favorite language to listen to.

    I did not know of this holiday or tradition so thanks for the education on that Sylviane.

    Sue
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    1. Hi Sue,

      I’m glad you enjoyed this.

      I knew that some people would just enjoy the young guy talking even though they may not understand the language, and that’s a good way to actually “see” the steps.

      Like you, I like crepes while I’m not a big fan of pancakes.

      Thanks for coming, Sue.

  5. I like the history you share with us Sylviane around these foods and celebrations.

    This is one thing I definitely won’t be trying, I’m not a big fan of crepes. I know, I’m weird. I’ll stick with the chocolate and other sweets though. You can count on that.

    ~Adrienne
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    1. Yes, that’s interesting, Adrienne. You don’t like crepes,hum? But hey I’ve seen people who don’t like foods that are delicious to others so it’s not much of a surprise.

      Next week it’s Mardi Gras food, hope you’ll like that one!

  6. I have been to France and had the opportunity to witness the occasion on February 2nd and of course taste the delicacy. Nice post.

  7. Hi Sylviane

    Love crepes. Haven’t made in awhile, but have been seriously thinking about them. Like them sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice and rolled up. Also like them cooked in orange liqueur mixture. Great with cream cheese inside and cooked berries on top. Even turkey crepes are good. Darn now I want some crepes!

    Did not know there was a little history behind it. Very nice info.

    Mary
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  8. Hi Sylviane,

    I appreciate your sharing this recipe for crepes. They looked yummy!

    I have never been a big fan of cooking. However, I love fine cuisine. I am going to share this! I trust that many friends will find the information helpful 🙂

    Enjoy your trip, Sylviane 🙂

    Viola The Business Mum
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  10. Sylviane,
    thanks for your personal recipe. I’ve never put alcohol in mine but will give it a try. I don’t like pancakes and we only make Crêpe in our house. Do you use a Rateau à crêpe? I used to just swirl the pan to thin out the crêpe but now with my new crepe rake they come out super thin and awesome. My kids area all expert crêpe makers too. 🙂
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    1. Hi Annie,

      Well, like you, I don’t make pancakes, I’d rather have crepes. So much finner taste in my book.

      I’ve never used un rateau a crepe, but I’m sure that makes super think crepes as they should be.
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  11. Oh my, these pancakes look incredibly yummy, Phoebe! We are making pancakes too – not too often, though, as it would be all that we’d eat, LOL!

    We love them with chocolate or strawberry jam and tiny bits of walnuts and some cinnamon on top, just delicious!

  12. Candlemas like many celebrations around the nativity is related to the light but also to purification, fertility and prosperity. The word “Chandeleur” comes precisely from candelarum, candle in Latine, according to a tradition of lighting candles at midnight as a symbol of purification In Roman times, Candlemas was celebrated from February 2-15, to honor the god of fertility Lupercus during the Lupercalia. It was a rite of purification.
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  14. I am not a fan of those stodgy thick pancakes. The recipe sounds great. I did not watch all the video but loved listening to the beautiful sound of the French language. I am sure I have said to you before it is my favorite language to listen to.

  15. Oh my, these pancakes look incredibly yummy, Phoebe! We are making pancakes too – not too often, though, as it would be all that we’d eat, LOL!

    We love them with chocolate or strawberry jam and tiny bits of walnuts and some cinnamon on top, just delicious!

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