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Plates of folded savory breakfast crepes, filled with asparagus, smoked salmon, creamy herbed scrambled eggs, hollandaise sauce, garnished with cucumbers and chives.

Spring Brunch Crepes with Hollandaise Sauce

Spring brunch fit for company! Tender and creamy herb scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and bright steamed asparagus fill easy to make ahead crepes. Drizzle a rich Hollandaise over them, add some crudités or even a side of berries, and enjoy!
Course Breakfast, brunch
Cuisine French, North American
Keyword asparagus, crepes, hollandaise sauce, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 4

Ingredients

Basic Crepes, full recipe, can make the day before and warmed before serving

  • 1 1/2 cups AP flour, can use Cup for Cup gluten free flour blend instead
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups milk, plus extra if needed
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil or butter, melted and cooled
  • zest from one lemon
  • grapeseed vegetable or avocado oil, or butter for frying up the crepes

Hollandaise Sauce, enough to serve four, See Notes, can be made first thing before the eggs and asparagus

  • 2 medium to large shallots, sliced thinly
  • 1/2 cup white wine, can be replaced with water and 1 tsp of white wine vinegar
  • 113 grams or 1 stick Butter cubed (8 tbsp)
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • salt and white pepper
  • cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp dill or chives chopped, optional

Herb Scrambled Eggs

  • 8 large eggs
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup packed herbs, use your favourite tender herbs like dill, parsley, chives, thyme, tarragon, any combo
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Finishing

  • finely chopped chives or parsley
  • smoked salmon slices, one average slice per crepe, or more as per your desire
  • steamed asparagus, at least 16 spears, See Notes
  • sliced cucumbers
  • sliced cherry tomatoes
  • small wedges of cheese like Brie, Gouda, Jarlsberg etc
  • fresh fruit, like berries, melon, or pineapple, cut into bite sized pieces for serving

Instructions

Crepes

  1. See Basic Crepes for detailed instructions, link below

Hollandaise Sauce

  1. See Hollandaise Sauce for detailed instructions, link below

Scrambled Eggs

  1. Break the eggs into a medium to large bowl. Add the salt and 1 tbsp water. Whisk till frothy and well combined. Let it sit while you prepare the herbs.

  2. Chop the herbs finely and place in a bowl. Have them ready by the stove.

  3. Heat the butter in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Once it is starting to foam and sizzle, add the olive oil. Once the oil is warmed through, pour in the eggs.

  4. Let the eggs sit for 10 seconds. Then use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to pull eggs from the outer edges in to the centre. Stir the eggs in the centre to keep them from sitting on the heat for too long. Swirl the pan so that liquid eggs can move out to the outer edges where the pan is bare.

  5. Continue repeating until the eggs are about half way cooked through. Sprinkle the herbs over the eggs. Continue folding the eggs, capturing herbs till creamy set. Remove from the heat. They will continue to cook in the residual heat.

To Assemble

  1. Place a crepe on a plate and spoon some of the egg down the centre. Lay a slice of smoked salmon over the eggs, and then two spears of asparagus. Fold the sides over the filling and spoon some of the Hollandaise Sauce over the crepe. Garnish with chopped chives, crudités, and fresh fruit.

  2. See blog post for more details.

Recipe Notes

Basic Crepes Recipe link
This recipe makes 12-14 crepes. You will only need two per person, but make the entire recipe so that you won't have to make it again for a little while. Of course, if you want to serve more than two per person, go for it! Store the remainder in the freezer is bonus.
Resting the crepe batter, for at least 30 minutes, or even in the fridge overnight allows the flour to absorb all the liquid, the glutens to relax, and any lumps to smooth out.
Having the oil and brush right there by the stove, plus a small offset spatula are key. You can even use this little spatula to spread out the final bit of batter to fill the pan.
If you find after making the first crepe that the batter needs to be thinned out, just add a little milk at a time. Vice versa if too thin, just add a tablespoon of flour at a time to get it to pourable but with enough structure to hold together once cooked up.
Hollandaise Sauce link
Keep warm till needed and taste to re-season if needed. I find a little more lemon is always a good idea. If Hollandaise is your jam, you may want to double the recipe!!
Asparagus
To steam the asparagus, place the spears into a skillet which can hold them all in one layer. Add just enough water to cover the bottom by 1/6th inch or so, along with a sprinkling of salt. Bring to a boil and cover. After two minutes they may be tender, depending on how thick they are. Check before the time is up with a sharp knife to see if it goes into the stalk easily. Remove the skillet from the stove, pour out any remaining water, and place on a cutting board. Season the asparagus spears with a sprinkle pepper, a bit more salt, and a little lemon juice over the spears. Keep partially covered till ready to serve.