French Chocolate Crepes Recipe

Name: French Chocolate Crepes
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (80 g) flour; 2 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) cocoa powder; 1 1/2 tablespoons (20 g) sugar; 1 cup + 1 tablespoon (250 ml) milk; 2 eggs; 3 tablespoons beer; 1 oz. (30 g) butter, melted; raspberry jam/preserves; powdered (icing) sugar

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Looking for a sweet, decadent breakfast? Look no further than this delicious French chocolate crepes recipe. Filled with raspberry jam, Nutella, or whipped cream, crepes make a gorgeous dessert to finish your romantic Valentine's dinner, too.

A batch of chocolate crepes with a pink tea towel and a cup in the background

I am up for beer batter crepes after perfecting classic French crepes. And it is a turn to share a recipe for chocolate crepes.

Yes, these crepes are made with beer that gives them crispiness and lace-looking. And they are so easy to make!

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Beer batter crepes
What beer to use to make a crepe batter
Chocolate crepe filling
Why you should try this recipe
How to make chocolate crepes
Expert tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Love crepes and pancakes? Try these next!
Recipe card
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French chocolate crepes folded in four served with raspberry jam icing sugar on a plate

Beer batter crepes

Do you know that there is a science behind beer batter crepes?

Since beer is a carbonated drink (carbon dioxide is a byproduct of fermentation, produced by yeast), it makes the crepe batter more acidic, limiting the amount of gluten formed by mixing beer and flour.

Beer makes the batter light, which results in cooking crepes with lots of air bubbles.

These small holes at the crepe edges resemble lace and make lovely hollows for jam or sauces to leak through.

All this means that more carbonated beers make the batter looser and crepes lacier.

What beer to use to make a crepe batter

Each beer brings a different flavor to the crepe batter. It is advisable to use a lighter style of beer, such as a lager.

Chocolate crepe filling

These are some delicious chocolate crepe filling ideas:

Raspberry jam/preserves with a veil of powdered (icing) sugar
Whipped cream with fresh raspberries or strawberries and shaved chocolate
Cream cheese with cherry pie filling
Nutella hazelnut spread with sliced bananas
Caramel or Dulce de Leche with sliced pears

Chocolate dessert crepes with jam and icing sugar served with a fork on a grey plate

Why you should try this recipe

This chocolate crepe recipe is easy to make, even for beginners.
Chocolate dessert crepes turn a regular breakfast into the decadent one.
They make a perfect treat to finish a romantic dinner.

How to make chocolate crepes

Using a flour sifter, sift flour and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix with a hand whisk.

In a separate bowl, beat milk and eggs just to mix, add beer and melted butter (photo 1).

Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk (photo 2). Pass the batter through a fine-mesh sieve, cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

Photo 1: Milk/eggs/beer/butter mixture in a bowl Photo 2: Batter in a bowl — **PHOTO 1 PHOTO 2**

The next day, gently beat the batter to mix ingredients. Using a silicone brush, oil a crepe pan.

Pour a small ladle of dough, swirl the pan to cover the bottom evenly, and cook for about 1 minute (photo 3).

Flip the crepe and cook another side for about 30 seconds (photo 4). Repeat with the remaining batter.

Photo 3: Crepe on a crepe pan Photo 4: Flipped crepe on a pan — **PHOTO 3 PHOTO 4**

Serve chocolate crepes with raspberry jam, folding crepes in four. Dust with powdered (icing) sugar.

Expert tips

If the crepe batter seems thick the next day, add 3 to 5 tablespoons (50 to 80 ml) of milk and mix. It should be smooth and thin enough for easy swirling around the bottom of a hot crepe pan or skillet.
Cook crepes in a well-heated crepe pan. Crepes cook quickly: it usually takes a minute on the first side and less than 30 seconds on another side.
Don’t pour too much batter into the crepe pan. The chocolate crepe batter has to cover the bottom of the pan completely before the bottom starts cooking.
Do not worry if the first crepe is a flop. Once you get the pan's right temperature, you will make the rest of the crepes perfectly. And the first flop is just as delicious!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use a blender to make a crepe batter?

Yes, you can use a blender to whip up ingredients together, but I prefer the "authentic" way of making the batter: mixing up with a hand whisk and straining it through a fine-mesh sieve to ensure that there are no lumps in the crepe batter.

Can you replace beer in a crepe batter?

The purpose of using beer in the batter is to use a carbonated beverage with a pH of 4. Theoretically, any bubbly drink with a neutral profile can replace beer to make crepes kids friendly. Use nonalcoholic beer or seltzer water.

Can you freeze chocolate crepes?

Double the batch and layer each crepe with parchment paper. Freeze crepes for a couple of months.

Love crepes and pancakes? Try these next!

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French Chocolate Crepes

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5 from 10 reviews

Looking for a sweet, decadent breakfast? Look no further than these delicious French chocolate crepes recipe. Filled with raspberry jam, Nutella, or whipped cream, crepes make a gorgeous dessert to finish your romantic Valentine's dinner, too.

Author: Irina Totterman
Total Time: 1 hour (plus resting time)
Yield: 10 crepes 1x
Category: Crepes
Method: Cooking
Cuisine: French

Instructions

Using a flour sifter, sift flour and cocoa powder in a large bowl. Add sugar and mix with a hand whisk. In a separate bowl, beat milk and eggs just to mix, add beer and melted butter. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk. Pass the batter through a fine-mesh sieve, cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, gently beat the batter to mix ingredients. Using a silicone brush, oil a crepe pan. Pour a small ladle of dough, swirl the pan to cover the bottom evenly, and cook for about 1 minute. Flip the crepe and cook another side for about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining batter.
Serve chocolate crepes with raspberry jam, folding crepes in four. Dust with powdered (icing) sugar.

Notes

If the crepe batter seems thick the next day, add 3 to 5 tablespoons (50 to 80 ml) of milk and mix. It should be smooth and thin enough for easy swirling around the bottom of a hot crepe pan or skillet.
Cook crepes in a well-heated crepe pan. Crepes cook quickly: it usually takes a minute on the first side and less than 30 seconds on another side.
Don’t pour too much batter into the crepe pan. The chocolate crepe batter has to cover the bottom of the pan completely before the bottom starts cooking.
Do not worry if the first crepe is a flop. Once you get the pan's right temperature, you will make the rest of the crepes perfectly. And the first flop is just as delicious!

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 crepe
Calories: 90
Sugar: 3.3 g
Sodium: 42 mg
Fat: 4.2 g
Saturated Fat: 2.3 g
Carbohydrates: 10.7 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 3.2 g
Cholesterol: 41 mg

The recipe was adapted from http://madame.lefigaro.fr. It was originally published on April 07, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos. All posted pictures are mine.

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.