March 22nd is National Bavarian Crêpes Day. What are Bavarian crêpes?

Called Palatschinke in Bavaria (Southern Germany), Austria, and Hungary (the singular is palacinka), and Pfannkuchen in Northern and Central Germany. They are typically made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour.

You’ll also see them referred to as Balkan-style crêpes, Croatian crêpes, Hungarian crêpes, Serbian crêpes, and other names.

The cooked crêpe leaves the pan, is filled, folded or rolled, and then often garnished—with powdered sugar, fresh fruit or fruit sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, or a combination.

What’s the main filling?

Note that in the U.S., “Bavarian Crêpe” often refers specifically to a crepe filled with Bavarian cream (crème bavaroise)†, a sophisticated custard thickened with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream.

However, in Bavaria, this popular crêpe is known as Pfannkuchen, and can have sweet or savory fillings.

 
Our Nana’s favorite fillings were smoked salmon with mascarpone cheese, and sweetened ricotta with dash of vanilla and raspberries.

Below:

> The difference between crêpes and pancakes.

> The difference between Bavarian crêpes and French crêpes.

> A recipe for Biscoff or Nutella-filled Bavarian crêpes.

> The history of Bavarian crêpes.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of crêpes.

> The history of pancakes.

> The different types of pancakes, a photo glossary.

> The year’s 10 pancake and crêpe holidays.
 
 
CRÊPES VS. PANCAKES: THE DIFFERENCE

Both crêpes and pancakes can be served as a savory or a sweet dish. Here are their differences.

1. Batter. Both include flour, egg, milk, and a dash of salt (some crêpe recipes add sugar). But crêpe batter has more eggs and less flour, creating a much more runny batter.

Thus, when the batter is poured into the pan, it spreads out more—creating its signature wafer-thinness—about a millimeter. Crêpes are delicate, pancakes are sturdy.

2. Size. Crêpes are large in diameter to allow for filling and rolling. Crêpe pans range from 7.5 inches up to 16 inches in diameter, with 10 to 12 inches the most common size.

3. Leavening. The difference between pancakes and crêpes is that pancake batter includes baking powder or baking soda as a raising agent, while crêpe batter does not.

The result is that pancakes rise to their thick and fluffy form, while crêpes remain thin and flat.

4. Resting batter. Unlike a French crêpe, the Bavarian crêpe batter doesn’t need to rest before using. Why does the batter need to rest? For the texture.

Resting the batter allows the flour to fully absorb the milk (or other liquid), and gives the gluten a chance to relax. Relaxed gluten produces more tender, melt-in-your-mouth crêpes.

One reason the original Bavarian crêpe-makers may have skipped this step: The batter needs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BAVARIAN CRÊPES & FRENCH CRÊPES

A Bavarian crêpe/palacinka is a crêpe-like thin pancake common in Central and Eastern Europe, rather than a true crêpe.

The main difference between Bavarian and French crêpe is that the batter is used right away, rather than letting it rest before using. Rested batter produces a thinner result.
 
 
RECIPES TO TRY

[1] Bavarian crêpes With Biscoff Cookie Butter. The recipe is below (photo © Lotus Bakeries).

[2] For wealthy Bavarians: savory crêpes filled with caviar, lobster, and smoked salmon (photo © Caviar Russe | NYC).

[3] Chocolate-filled crêpes a la mode (photo © St. Pierre Bakery).

[4] French crêpes can be folded rather than rolled. These are the famous Crêpes Suzette (photo © Betty Crocker).

For The Crêpe Batter

 
For The Filling

 
For The Garnish

 
Preparation
 
1. PREPARE the crêpe batter. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, eggs, milk, melted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Let the batter rest for 20-30 minutes.

2. HEAT a non-stick skillet over medium heat and lightly grease it with butter or cooking spray (ideally use a crêpe pan for thin, even crêpes). Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the skillet, tilting it in a circular motion to spread the batter evenly.

3. COOK for 1-2 minutes, until the edges lift slightly and the bottom is golden. Flip and cook for another 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining batter.

4. ASSEMBLE. Spread a generous layer of Biscoff spread over each crêpe. Add the sliced fruit layer, if desired. Fold the crepe into quarters. Garnish and serve.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF BAVARIAN CRÊPES

The Bavaria crêpe is part of a much older Central European tradition. While they share a common ancestor with the French crêpe, they have developed their own distinct identity over centuries of regional cooking.

The Bavarian crepe has ancient origins. The name Palatschinke (singular: Palacinka) traces back to the Ancient Greek plakous meaning flatbread. From that came the Roman/ Latin word placenta, which referred to an elaborate cake†.

Over centuries, the name shifted to refer to a thin, pan-cooked pancake, even though the original Roman dish was a baked, layered cake (food names often travel more faithfully than the recipes themselves). The etymology:

Greek plakous → Latin placenta → later forms (via Byzantine Greek and Balkan languages) → Hungarian palacsinta → German Palatschinke, the name for the crêpe in Bavaria.

The dish became a staple across the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Because of this shared history, there are nearly identical versions of the “Bavarian” crêpe in Austria, Hungary (palacsinta), the Czech Republic (palačinka), and the Balkans.

The Bavarian Distinction. In Bavaria, these crêpes are a beloved comfort food. Unlike French crêpes, which often require the batter to rest for 30 minutes to an hour to relax the gluten, Bavarian recipes typically use the batter immediately.

This results in a slightly more home-style texture that is tender but substantial enough to hold heavy fillings.

Skip ahead a few centures and the holiday, National Bavarian Crêpes Day, was established in 2015‡ to celebrate this specific cross-cultural fusion of German tradition and French pastry technique.
 

[6] Rolled Bavarian crepes filled with seafood and topped with Mornay sauce (Abacus Photo).
 
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*A common modern association is the ““Bavarian Crêpe” filled with Bavarian Cream (creme bavarois in French, Bayerische Creme in German). Food historians believe Bavarian cream was created by the great French chefMarie-Antoine Carême, when he was in the employ of the Bavarian Wittelsbach princes in the 19th century.

*The Roman placenta was very different from a flatbread or flat pancake/crêpe. Cato the Elder’s De Agri Cultura (2nd century B.C.E.) described a baked, layered cake, not a thin pan-fried pancake. It consisted of multiple layers of thin dough sheets. Between the layers was a mixture of fresh cheese (often sheep’s cheese), honey, and sometimes herbs: in essence, a type of cheesecake, baked as a single, substantial cake. Structurally, it was related baklava (layered pastry with sweet filling), or a deep, layered savory pie—somewhat like lasagna in construction, although though sweet.

‡For Natioonal Bavarian Crepes Day, the earliest digital trace is March 22, 2015 (Identified by tracking algorithms). The earliest preserved webpage is from September–November 2016 (archived by the Wayback Machine). The founder remains unknown.
 

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