Are you looking for a unique and delicious dessert experience? Originating in Japan, these Japanese crepes are a delightful combination of a thin, sweet crepe and an array of mouth-watering fillings. Whether you’re a sweet tooth or a savory lover, Japanese crepes offer something for everyone. In this article, we’ll explore the history and variations of Japanese crepes, as well as where to find them and how to make them at home.
What is Japanese Crepe?
Japanese crepe is a type of dessert that originated in Japan and is typically served as street food or in specialty crepe shops. A crepe is, in a nutshell, a thinly baked cake made from cereal flour dissolved in water. It is then folded and filled with a variety of ingredients such as fresh fruits, whipped cream, chocolate, and ice cream. It is orthodox to eat it warm with simple seasonings such as sugar, butter, and Nutella (hazelnut-flavored chocolate sauce). There is a hand-held type and a version that you put on a plate and eat with a fork and knife.
Japanese Crepe History
The initial crepe specialty store in Japan, known as Marion Crepe, began operating in 1976 as a mobile wagon-style outlet located on Takeshita Street in Harajuku. Marion Crepe has since evolved into a long-established crepe store with multiple branches nationwide. During a time when crepes were not yet widely acknowledged as a food item, they became a sensation as trendy sweets originating from France. The second Marion Crepe store was launched on Takeshita Street in Harajuku the following year, at a time when there were not many stores in the area. This coincided with the opening of other shops that have since become symbolic of Harajuku, such as Palais Francais and Boutique Takenoko.
By the 1980s, crepes had become a prominent feature of the Harajuku culture, including the Takenoko tribe and talent shops, as they were considered easy and quick sweets. Over time, crepes have become a food that symbolizes Harajuku.
The French crepe, which developed from the galette, typically has simple toppings like sugar, butter, and chocolate sauce. On the contrary, Japanese crepes offer a wide variety of toppings such as cream, ice cream, and fruits, making it challenging to choose. This style, now referred to as Japanese crepe internationally, originated from Blueberry House, which opened on Takeshita Street in Harajuku. They got inspired by the ice monaka desserts found in supermarkets and added fresh cream and fruit to create Japanese-style crepes, which became popular.
Crepes’ Fillings
Fruits
Fruit is a must-have ingredient for dessert crepes. Enjoy with your favorite fruits such as oranges, kiwis, peaches, and mangoes, as well as standard bananas and strawberries.
Jam sauce
Like fruit, it is one of the essential ingredients for crepes. It is also attractive that you can arrange it with your favorite taste such as strawberry, blueberry, and apple.
Whipped cream
It is no exaggeration to say that the rich and rich whipped cream is the star of crepe. If you combine it with fruits and jams, it will be a hearty dish.
Custard
Custard is also in the list when you want to finish with a more elegant taste than usual. If you take a bite, the mellow flavor of the egg and milk will spread and you will be addicted to it!
Chocolate
If you top it with chocolate sauce or cream, it will be thicker and richer. Locals recommended to scatter the color chocolate spray and finish it colorfully.
Anko
If you use red bean paste, which has a gentle sweetness, you can create a Japanese-style crepe that is a little different from the usual. It goes well with ice cream, whipped cream, and fruits such as strawberries.
Ice cream
The cool and cold ice cream goes well with the springy crepe dough, and it’s a blissful taste. Depending on the flavor of the ice cream, the finished product will change, so you can enjoy a variety of flavors.
Latest Crepes in Japan
Crepes with Caviar
The one who established this uses rum and nuts that go well with caviar to bring out the flavor of the dough and adds rice flour directly from our contracted farmers to increase its elasticity and elasticity.
Butter and Sugar Crepe
It is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The secret to the chewy texture is that the dough is made with sticky French all-purpose flour instead of soft flour. It’s like eating a pancake with butter without adding maple syrup or honey.
Montblanc Ogura Fresh Cream Crepe
It uses high-quality Tokachi red beans and French chestnut cream. On top of the dough with roasted green tea, cream with roasted green tea cream, red bean paste, and dried apples
Types of Japanese Crepes
Chocolate cream
It boasts a deep-rooted popularity as a popular crepe that combines chocolate with whipped cream.
Cherry blossom strawberry roll crepe
Luxuriously topped with strawberries and a roll cake. A sweet and sour taste combined with cherry blossom chocolate.
Sakura-scented Japanese matcha
Japanese-style crepe topped with dorayaki, shiratama dumplings, adzuki beans, and cherry blossom jelly with a faint scent of cherry blossoms.
Azuki cream
It is an original menu with whipped cream on top-quality adzuki beans representing Japanese sweets.
Apple Cream
The sourness and refreshing aroma of apples make this a classic menu item that reminds you of high-quality sweets.
Japanese Crepe FAQ
Difference of Japanese crepes to Frech crepes
Japanese crepes are a dessert that originated in Japan and are made with a crispy crepe shell filled with various sweet toppings such as whipped cream, fruits, and ice cream. They are typically larger, thinner, and crispier than French crepes, with more elaborate and creative toppings. They are also often served in a cone shape for on-the-go eating.
Unique or unusual flavors of Japanese crepes
Japanese offer green tea, which provides a subtle, earthy taste as it’s made with matcha powder. Red bean is another popular filling for crepes, using sweetened red bean paste as a traditional Japanese ingredient. Some crepes also incorporate mochi, which is a soft and chewy rice cake for a unique texture.
Japanese Crepe Recipe
Japanese Crepe Ingredients
Ingredients of Japanese Crepe for 8 persons
Measurements
Unsalted butter
15g
Milk
340g
Weak flour
100g
Egg
79g
Sugar
42g
Salt
4g
How to make Japanese Crepe
STEP
Warm the milk
Heat the milk over low heat, and when bubbles form, turn off the heat and let it cool. The temperature of the milk at this time is about 65-70 degrees.
STEP
Melt butter
Melt the butter over low heat. Heat for 2 minutes until fragrant, then turn off the heat and allow to cool.
Mix cake flour, sugar, salt, and eggs
Add cake flour, sugar, salt, and eggs to a bowl and mix well until the dough is smooth and free of lumps. Be careful not to leave any lumps, as it will result in a powdery finish.
Add milk and butter
Pour warm milk little by little into the mixture you make on Step 3 . Add it little by little, making sure it’s well mixed. After adding the milk, add the melted butter and mix well.
Put the dough in the frying pan
Add salad oil (not listed) to a frying pan and heat over high heat for 2-3 minutes. After thoroughly mixing the dough, spread it evenly over the frying pan with a ladle.
Bake one side firmly
Heat for about 1 minute until the bottom becomes a beautiful color. Lift the edge of the dough away from the pan with a spatula and allow it to cool slightly.
Bake the other side
Cook the other side for about 30 seconds. Once baked, turn the frying pan over on a plate and remove the batter.
Where to buy Japanese Crepe
Horn (ホルン)
“Horn”, which opened in Yoyogi Hachiman on 2021, is a shop that mainly sells cakes and bread. There is an eat-in space in the basement of the store, where you can enjoy cafe time with a drink menu that goes well with sweets. You can enjoy the richly fragrant butter and lemon of the chewy dough.
The crepe “Crepe Retro Doll” is limited to takeout, is currently attracting attention here. This crepe is made with flour “Letro d’Or”, which is also used for the most popular bread in the shop “Baguette L’Echiré d’Or”, and high-quality French butter “Echiré butter”. The mellow scent of Echire butter and the springy texture of the dough will make you addicted once you eat it.
Galettoria, located in Shoto, a high-class residential area in Shibuya Ward, is a famous galette and crepe restaurant with an atmosphere reminiscent of the countryside of southern France. There are about 7 types of crepes, such as “butter and sugar crepe” and “cinnamon”, and you can add whipped cream for an additional 150 yen and cute rose-shaped ice cream for 300 yen.
If you’re planning a trip to Japan, one of the must-try treats is a Japanese crepe. These delicious sweets have gained popularity not only in Japan but also around the world, with their thin, crispy shells and a variety of creative toppings. So, whether you’re strolling through the bustling streets of Tokyo or exploring the traditional neighborhoods of Japan, be sure to indulge in the mouth-watering goodness of a Japanese crepe during your visit.
You can check some Japanese dishes below that we know you would like to try too.
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