12" Griddle & Crepe Maker, Non-Stick Electric Crepe Pan w Batter Spreader & Recipe Guide- Dual Use Hot Plate for Morning Blintzes Eggs Pancakes- Portable, Adjustable Temp Settings- Valentines Day Gift

Have made crepes for years using various pans. We put off buying a crepe machine for years. We decided to buy dedicated crepe maker after our most recent trip to France. In Brittany they use a batter using ble noir (black wheat), what we call buckwheat, which isn't wheat all but is a relative of rhubarb. Sometimes we use all purpose flour, sometimes buckwheat, and sometimes a mixture. Each to his own.The spreader that is included is easier to use than the flat faced ones that are more common in France. The round bar slips around better and doesn't get stuck in the fresh batter during spreading. A light touch is best, as is going in only one direction while spreading the batter to the edge of the surface. We have found 1/2 cup of batter to be perfect. The thickness of the batter requires slight adjustments each time depending on humidity, dryness of the flour, etc. Sometimes rubbing with butter between crepes helps. We find that a little vegetable oil in the batter helps prevent the crepes from sticking. A friend just brought us a thin wooden spatula that can't scratch the surface. We use about half or a little more of the flour that the packaged recipe calls for. Don't be afraid to experiment. We apply a thin coating of butter with a paper towel before the first batch. Most importantly, the machine heats up quickly, maintains its temperature, and is just a joy to work with. Our friends in France have somewhat larger, heavier duty models that cost 500 euros and up. Easy to clean. For the money this unit is AMAZING. Every time we have used this machine (probably 20 times so far, including parties), the results have been superb. We find that setting the temp just under 2.5 works best. Favorite fillings for breakfast: scrambled egg spread thin immediately after flipping the crepe, with shredded ementhaler/swiss/cheddar and paper thin ham or proscuitto. Maybe a little creme freche on top after folding and plating. For afternoon snacks we tend to prefer Nutella and chopped bananas or other fruits. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar..... Yum No complaints whatsoever. Addition Feb 10, 2012: I bought one for a neighbor for Christmas. We now use both ours and theirs together for crepe parties. THIN batter is critical, as is having enough egg in the batter to keep it strong. We use 4 eggs, 1/2 cup flour, 2 c 2% milk, just under 1/2 stick (just under 1/8 lb) of melted butter, vanilla to taste, 2 TBSP sugar, a dash of salt, whisked slowly to avoid as many bubbles as possible. Don't leave any lumps. The whisking takes time if done slowly. You can use a beater on low, but then you have to wait longer for the bubbles to disappear. Stir it up between each crepe as the flour settles to the bottom of the mixing bowl. This as needed. Crepes can be very thin. Let the batter rest to get as many bubbles out as practical. All purpose flour can rest overnight, but still needs to be re-stirred with slow whisk before using to keep mixture smooth and thin. If it sits overnight in refrigerator, often must add more milk before cooking. If using buckwheat, use batter within an hour or so because buckwheat begins to ferment quickly once mixed. We set the first machine at 3.5 for getting a thin, crisp first side, with the second one set at 2.5-3 to do the second side a little more slowly to allow the cheese to melt and scrambled eggs to cook before the crepe burns. You will need to do your own experimenting. It is also cooler in order that the Nutella doesn't overheat. Using two Cucinapros lets the cook get back to the party faster and lets everyone eat at more or less the same time instead of 3-4 minutes between servings. Our friends from France have brought over several of the thin wood spatulas. About 2 Euros (less than $3.00 vs the $16 that is charged here. They keep the units absolutely scratch-free and make turning the crepes super-easy. WE LOVE THESE UNITS. Absolutely NO complaints. Cleanup is super easy. We may get a second one for ourselves for convenience. The commercial units available overseas use 220 v power and have a cooking surface that is about 1 cm thick. It loses no temperaure when the batter is put on. It also costs about ten times what a Cucinapro costs. The Cucinapro seems to have changed its name to Breville. If that is correct, the same comments should apply.

Nice little crepe maker. Easy to work with, easy to clean, and easy to store. I'm a novice at crepe making, and it is working very well for me. I caught the bug on my last trip to France and decided to get a dedicated crepe-maker, rather than a pan. I was looking for a slightly convex surface with a lip around the edge, which pretty much describes this little appliance. I've tried several crepe recipes, but the one in the booklet that comes with the crepe maker works pretty well. Here's what I've learned so far: • About 1/3 cup of crepe batter seems about right for this griddle. I mix the batter in a blender, which works surprisingly well, and I can get about 10 large crepes from a batch. The unit has temperature settings from 1 to 5; I'm setting it to just below 3, and that seems to work pretty well. • The griddle on the crepe maker should be prepped with either cooking spray or a little butter before each crepe. Either will work, but I prefer butter because it leaves the crepe maker sides less greasy. I cut off a small square of butter and slide it around the hot griddle with a paper towel. • The T-bar that comes with the crepe maker is an essential tool for getting crepe batter spread on the griddle. It's definitely a learned skill, but I'm getting the hang of it. A light touch is important; another review described twirling the T-bar in a circular motion around the center of the cooking surface, and that seems pretty accurate. • A good wooden crepe paddle is a must-have. A paddle with a slight point at the end makes it pretty easy to slide the paddle under the crepe and flip it when it's ready to turn. After you pour the batter onto the griddle, wait for bubbles to form on the top of the crepe, and for the edges to start curling up. Then, just slide the paddle under the crepe to unstick it from the surface, then flip. I don't have any complaints about this unit, and I can recommend it for beginners like myself.

This is a surprisingly great little appliance and a good bargain for the price. I bought my CucinaPro through Amazon to make crepes (what a surprise!) but I find it to be a versatile cooking surface as well. As a crepe maker, it works great. All you need is the appropriate recipe and get a good crepe flipper. I bought the LamsonSharp 10" Flexible offset spatula from Amazon as well. I rub just a hint of canola oil on it and pre-heat a little for best results. I rarely use the spreader since my recipe is for very thin French style crepes. Just pour on the mix and it flows along the griddle surface just fine. The lip around the edge is just enough to keep it from flowing over the side. Perfect crepes are easy. The secret is in the eggs. One day I used it as a griddle to fry an egg. It beats my egg pan. I love the non stick surface and clean up is a cinch. Just wipe it off with a damp paper towel. One recipe called for removing meat from the pan to prepare the sauce. I moved the meat on to the CucinaPro on a low setting while I made the sauce and it worked well. Even though my kitchen is small, it stays on the counter top. That's because you can still use the surface when it is turned off. Buy one of these. They're cool.

After returning from Paris and having enjoyed the street vendor crepes, I knew I had to have a crepe maker of my own. After doing some shopping, I was surprised at how much crepe makers could cost. The CucinaPro was the only one that I thought was worth the money before I ordered. Thankfully, I was right. It makes great crepes and is easy to use. Even though is says it only has 5 temps, there is a slide control for setting the temp so you can set the temp anywhere in between the pre-printed numbers and really get the temp just where you need it. The only thing that would make this better for me would be to improve the skirt under the griddle. The skirt is made of a soft plastic that bends when you pick up the grill. It you pick it up with two hands, the plastic is fine, but if you try to pick it up with one hand, it bends quite a bit.

We had this crepe maker for 11 years and it needs to be replaced because we dropped it and it cracked. Buying another one now. Great crepe maker and have had lots of family breakfasts! Easy to use and easy to clean. Because it is nonstick, just a quick k wipe to clean it.

I have been using this griddle and crepe maker for savory and sweet recipes without oil. The smell of fresh pancakes and crepes fills the house. The batters work well with the light weight griddle, non-stick electric holiday crepe pan. The batter spreader and recipe book are complementary and very helpful. The color of the griddle is black and a good size 12’. I would recommend this as a holiday gift.

After 5 weeks in France, my husband and I were highly interested in continuing our access to warm, fresh crepes. We bought this crepe griddle and are very pleased. It's easy, heats evenly, and makes consistently great crepes. Below, you will find some advice I have to offer, based on our experience; I believe the suggestions may also answer some questions you have about the griddle itself. 1. The Spreader Tool - yes, they use these at all the crepe stands we went to up and down southern France. We use ours. The trick is to let it float, let it twirl in your fingers, with a flexible wrist, as you make the circle to spread the batter. (Sounds like a bigger deal than it is, but it helps.) 2. Heat - Keep it just under the 2 setting, at least at first. So far I keep it at 2. 3. Butter - Use a paper towel to spread a bit of butter before making EACH crepe. It works and tastes much better than the spray, Too much and the crepes will float and not spread well. That's why the paper towel. 4. "Brown Butter" (See recipe book comments below) - Don't bother with it, as putting the butter on the griddle, will give it a bit of browning flavor without the fuss and over-the-top taste. 5. Batter - Many suggest keeping the batter in the fridge overnight before making the crepes. In her cook book, Martha Holmberg explains that this allows the flour to fully hydrate. It's one of those "kitchen science" things, and I agree it makes a difference. I DO use a blender as Holmberg suggests, and this works well, though I believe letting the batter then "rest" in the fridge, is essential. 6. Crepe Book - We bought the Martha Holmberg book called "Crepes - 50 Savory and Sweet Recipes." Important: Read all of Martha's commentary (her commentary is relaxed and useful), including that with the batter section. Don't just dive into the ingredients list. We have made her "Versatile Crepe" and her "Buckwheat Crepe." I add a few tablespoons of sugar to the Versatile crepe, and (very important to me) some vanilla extract, when making this crepe for fruit, preserves, or even eating plain. This is the taste we had at the "sweet" Crepe stands in France. 7. Buckwheat (works well for savory fillings) - As you'll see in Martha's book, buckwheat is not wheat at all, so it does not have a grainy or gritty texture - plus, it is mixed with some regular flower. It was the perfect match for the ham and cheese (we used her optional suggestion of Smoked Gouda) crepes. Don't shy away from the walnuts, capers and "topping." (I know there is a better culinary term, but you get the idea). The capers, walnuts and topping, really "made" the crepes. I substituted sour cream for creme fraiche, and stayed with the Dijon mustard. I also added a bit more sour cream than called for (to taste), so the mustard did not take over. I was happy with this. For the topping, you'll multiply the measures listed, by the number of crepes you are making. 8. Guests and Warming - Because we were making crepes for guests, I made the almost all the crepes in advance. I say almost, because I saved enough to demonstrate one, and let our friends each make one. It was fun. Then I put the filling inside, and warmed the crepes in the oven. I put the "topping" on the table, and let people try to taste - everybody liked it. Calories - Think about this: Each crepe, which is quite large, uses only 1/3 cup batter, and 50% of that is milk and eggs. (I do use whole milk). Each guest ate two crepes - one sweet and one savory, with filling, and we were stuffed! Good luck, enjoy!

I wanted to love it. But we've broken up. First, I received one that had already been opened and used. There was grease residue on the cooking surface. The box the item shipped in was torn and smashed. This was likely a previous return. I set it up and checked it out and it appeared to be okay, so I did a test drive by making pancakes. Well, that was a bust. The unit does not get hot enough to actually cook the batter. Even on the highest setting, the cooking surface did not get hot enough to make the batter brown on the bottom, nor bubble. It basically just dehydrates it into pancake leather, with the caveat that it was gummy inside because it didn't actually COOK it. Very disappointing. To complete teh lackluster performance, everything sticks to the "non-stick" surface. Even when I used butter to lightly grease the cook surface, the pancake batter stuck to it, and a fried egg... well, just don't. I am returning this item and going with the EliteGourmet griddle instead. I have the EliteGourmet electric grill, which I absolutely love. I regret not cutting to the chase and buying that one instead. Imho, this is not a $40 griddle, even if it worked flawlessly. It's pretty flimsy and quality-wise, I'd call this meh or average. Maybe $30. Not $40. That said, I think the EliteGourmet grill was overpriced at $39, despite being very happy with it. These units are rather cheesily made. Lots of lightweight plastic. So, at $40, it better cook like a dream for $15 worth of plastic. Lastly, the included tools are a joke. They could have at least sanded off the jagged edges of the spatula. If you want this for making crepes, do yourself a favor and buy a decent spreader and spatula. These are utterly worthless. Summary: pass on this and look for something a little better. Note that I did NOT buy this for making crepes. I wanted it for pancakes, grilled cheese, quesadillas, French toast, etc. I wanted a small griddle I could leave on my stovetop because I have limited kitchen space. I have carbon steel crepe pans for crepes and a Zojirushi griddle for bigger jobs. It MIGHT get hot enough to cook a crepe evenly enough to be passable, if you don't mind them sticking.