This summer, we spent some time camping in France accompanied by our little blind cat, Tolly. Crêpes feature in all parts of France but here, on the campsite, our inspiration for crêpes came from an unlikely source.

We were fortunate enough to have both wonderful weather and great neighbours on a campsite in the Auvergne region of central France. We spent a very pleasant evening where Gerrit, from the Netherlands, made pancakes on his gas-fired outdoor cooker for us and our fellow campers, Tanika and Peter, also from the Netherlands. Accompanied by excellent local wines, it was a delightful evening with savoury and sweet versions interspersed.

We were inspired to buy a crêpes pan in Carrefour before returning home – not expensive but great to use.

Here is our take on the French/Dutch classics!

Basic batter

 100gm plain flour

300ml milk

2 eggs

pinch of salt.

(Tanika had a secret ready-prepared mix which Gerrit used. just requiring the addition of water/milk, making it ideal for camping, If the ingenious Dutch mix is not available, the more traditional materials shown above always work well).

• Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to a creamy consistency.
• Ladle onto the pan and attempt to get an even covering
• Allow to brown before turning, then…….

For Savoury toppings – we chose

Onion –chopped

Grated cheese

Salami/chorizo – vegetarians could leave this out

• Sprinkle onion/cheese and salami (if using) then fold over.
• Allow enough time to melt cheese and to brown a little, turn the pancake over and serve

For Sweet toppings – choose from chocolate, honey, jam etc. We opted for the traditional sugar and lemon

• Sprinkle with granulated sugar and lemon juice

I love butter but it is almost superfluous here. Just enjoy!

A regional diversion here – Normandy Crêpes

Moving from the extraordinary Auvergne to Normandy, we returned to a favourite campsite and, yes, more crêpes. A classic is the Normande – stewed apple with a little cream inside the crepe then flambe with calvados. Mmmmmm!

Cycling from the campsite to the local village of Morlaix to stock up on supplies was unexpectedly rewarded in the local bar. Agreeing to help promote local events by simply posting a flyer in the campsite resulted in a complimentary sweetly sugared crepe to accompany our beers. What could be better!

We are, as you may have gathered, crepes enthusiasts.