Christmas Tree Crepes with Gingerbread Spice Whipped Cream are simple to make and the perfect way to start your Christmas morning! Make them all month long for a fun & festive way to celebrate the season without a lot of hassle!
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Every family has one – the story of the Christmas tree that just. wouldn’t. stand. up. Turns out that 2016 is our year to experience this delightful tradition.
We got our Noble Fir at a local Christmas tree lot on Monday night and got it all set up and decorated. But the next day it looked like it maybe wasn’t quite as straight as it had been the night before, just not enough that we thought to do anything about it.
So it was both horrifying and hilarious when, while we were all sitting at the table eating dinner together that night, the tree toppled right over with a huge crash.
Our 5 & 2 year old girls were fairly traumatized by the sight of crushed glass and strands of lights strewn about the living room.
Especially when Clara (our oldest) discovered that her namesake ornament, Clara from the Nutcracker, was broken, along with the Tinkerbell ornament that is our other favorite. Poor Tink got decapitated and had her wings snapped off.
It was a grim sight.
While the grown-ups were able to see the hilarity in the tragedy and were more annoyed by the water from the tree stand that was soaking into our less-than-a-year-old-carpet, our little Clara was in tears over the devastation.
So the next morning, with a tree sitting forlornly in the middle of the living room stripped of all it’s decorations and somber girls waking up to a reminder of the trauma from the night before, I knew I needed a win.
And Clara gave it to me when she requested crepes for breakfast. I had a flash of inspiration and these Christmas tree crêpes with gingerbread spice whipped cream were born.
We love eating sweet crepes (or more accurately, crêpes) at our house. They are one of our favorite breakfasts and our girls ask for them on a regular basis. Sometimes we even make chocolate crepes!
Paul and I fell in love with crêpes when we were visiting Paris during our first summer of law school. I had eaten crêpes before, but never really fell in love with them until eating a piping hot sweet crêpe right in front of the Eiffel Tower. Which is perhaps the best place to fall in love with crêpes after all.
Crêpes are so much fun because you can fill them with whatever you desire!
Paul loves Nutella and sliced bananas in his crêpes. Clara likes strawberries and Nutella. I like raspberries and blueberries with sweetened whipped cream. Rose, well, she’s still 2 so she basically demolishes the crêpe and doesn’t care what’s inside yet.
But you could also fill them with apple pie filling, butter & sugar, fresh peaches & cream (another favorite combo of mine) or even just jam.
But to make them into Christmas tree crêpes, all I really needed to do was add a little green food coloring (affiliate link) to the batter. It’s a trick I have used with pancakes on St. Patrick’s Day, explaining to Clara that sneaky leprechauns did it, but I had never thought to dye crêpe batter.
It worked splendidly – better than I expected actually – and the girls were thrilled! Although Clara did ask me whether leprechauns had done it, lol.
The gingerbread spice whipped cream was the other part of the equation that makes these really extra special and Christmasy. It was a last minute addition that I didn’t actually plan out until I had the freshly whipped cream on the table, when it popped into my head that adding a bit of spice to it would make it just that much more magical.
Gingerbread spice is a mix of cinnamon and ginger with a little allspice, nutmeg, and cloves and adding it to sweetened whipped cream is just delightful and the perfect way to finish off these crêpes with seasonal flavor!
Honestly, crêpes could easily be bland since they are mostly just flour, egg, water and milk, which is why they are so often filled with wonderful things. But really, these ones could be eaten plain because of the addition of a little sugar and vanilla and almond extract.
I actually put plain leftover crêpes in Clara’s lunchbox sometimes and she loves it.
The really great thing about these sweet crêpes is that they can be made year round (no need to add food coloring (affiliate link) to them every time unless you really feel like it) with ingredients you already have on hand.
These Christmas tree crêpes can be made in a regular frying pan, or if you have one, a crêpe pan. If you end up making crêpes often, it’s totally worth it to invest in a good crêpe pan. We have this one (affiliate link) and love it, although the handle does start to get a little hot towards the end of the crêpe making process when I’m pouring the last few crêpes.
To serve as Christmas trees, drizzle each crêpe with a little Nutella, if desired, then fold in half, then in fourths to make a quarter circle. Layer them in the same direction on a plate, slightly offset like in the photos and gently lift the top flap of each crêpe, gently spooning some gingerbread spice whipped cream in.
Then top with raspberries and blueberries or whatever other fruit or toppings might look like ornaments, like pomegranate arils, halved grapes or even sugared cranberries or chocolate chips. Dust with powdered sugar if you want a “flocked” look for your Christmas tree crêpes and then devour!
More Breakfast Recipes That Are Great For Christmas Morning
- Homemade Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns
- Biscuits and Gravy Casserole
- Green Chili Egg Casserole
- Berry Breakfast Bagel French Toast Casserole
- Copycat Waffle Love Liège Waffles
- Cranberry Orange Pull-Apart Monkey Bread
- Smoked Salmon Scrambled Eggs
- Make-Ahead Breakfast Sandwiches
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Christmas Tree Crepes with Gingerbread Spice Whipped Cream
Ingredients
Sweet crêpes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Gingerbread spiced whipped cream
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice
Instructions
Sweet crêpes
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and eggs. It will mostly come together in one large mass. Slowly add the milk and water, about ¼ cup at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition to create a smooth batter. If you add too much liquid at once, it will be harder to get rids of lumps and have a smooth, consistent batter, so take your time and keep whisking. Stir in the salt, sugar, butter, vanilla and almond extract.2 cups all-purpose flour, 4 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup water, ½ teaspoon salt, 4 teaspoons granulated sugar, 4 Tablespoons salted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Heat a lightly oiled crêpe pan or medium-size frying pan or griddle over medium-high heat. Using a measuring cup, pour ¼ cup of batter into the pan and tilt the pan in a circular, swirling motion so that the batter covers the bottom of the pan in a thin, even layer.
- Cook each crêpe for 1-2 minutes, until the bottom barely starts to brown and the surface of the crêpe goes from glossy to matte, then carefully flip the crepe with a spatula and cook the other side for 1 minute more. Transfer each crêpe to a plate and repeat the process until all the batter has been used up.
- To make into Christmas trees, drizzle each crêpe with a little Nutella, if desired, then fold in half, then in fourths to make a quarter circle. Layer them in the same direction on a plate, slightly offset and gently lift the top flap of each crêpe, gently spooning some gingerbread spice whipped cream in. Then top with raspberries and blueberries, dust with powdered sugar, if desired, and serve.
- If making these crêpes like normal, serve hot with Nutella, fresh sliced bananas, strawberries, raspberries or blueberries, jams or apple pie filling and sweetened whipped cream. Or whatever other toppings you can think of!
Whipped cream
- In a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream on high speed with a hand mixer until medium peaks begin to form, but do not overmix. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and almond extract, if using, and the gingerbread spice. Mix again, just until incorporated, then refrigerate until ready to serve.1 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon gingerbread spice
SO cute and so simple! How fun to take a couple extra steps and turn regular crepes into a festive treat!
This is such an adorable idea. I especially love the twist of gingerbread spice whipped cream. I’m definitely going to add this to our Christmas menu.
Extremely cute!!!! we don’t want to wait Christmas to have one!
Wish you a wonderful weekend!
Gloria & Emanuele
These looks so cute. The perfect breakfast for Christmas morning…..love how they looks like trees.
These look so fun and yummy! Great to have a Christmas themed breakfast, not just desserts! Thanks for the recipe!
This is such a cute idea, but I bet it tastes great as well! I can’t wait to try this out!
Law school in Paris? How Awesome! I went to law school here and I’m sure your experience was so much better. Now about those crepes, they look AMAZING! Looks like I will be making these for Christmas morning.
We were just there during the summer between our 1L and 2L years. Both my husband and I did law school and we had internships in Germany that summer with firms. And my husband’s first project required travel to Paris (not a bad life at all!). I’m sure you will love these for Christmas morning! They are so fast and easy to throw together!
Love the almond extract touch in a sweet crepe! And this is just perfect for Christmas morning with the kids! What a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Such a wonderful idea to add a little food colouring and make these crepes into something special! I am very keen to try it out on my two little ones although I’m not sure I’ll be organised enough on Christmas morning!
Oh no! So sorry about your ornaments but glad they inspired these beautiful crepes. Such a delightful festive treat. That gingerbread spiced whipped cream sounds perfect.
Such an adorable idea!
These are seriously the cutest!! What a great breakfast for Christmas!
Oh my! How cute! I saw these last week and thought they were so amazing! Love them! Perfect for Christmas breakfast!
I made these for breakfast this morning and the girls loved them! I don’t think to make crepes very often, but we’re going to add these to our regular rotation. The Christmassy touch was so fun!
Aw, I’m glad to hear that! These are definitely a fun twist that we love too. I love adding more whimsy to something as everyday as our breakfast routine.
Oh your poor tree, I am sure you guys would have been devastated!! At least you can look back and laugh on it now though 🙂 These little crepes are just the cutest! I have never actually tried making crepes from scratch, but now I have to!
I adore these Christmas tree crepes! And I have to tell you, you are not alone in your Christmas tree debacle. On our second Christmas as a married couple, my husband and I had gone to my dad’s house for our annual Christmas eve gift exchange. We lived in a small apartment in a somewhat questionable neighborhood at the time. We came home at like 3 am. My husband unlocked the door, and I hear, “Oh fuuuuudge!” I immediately think we had been robbed or something. Nope, there was our Christmas tree laying sideways in our living rooom, looking like a yuletide murder victim.
What a nightmare! The crepes seem like an excellent way to make up for any tree trauma. Love that you use the berries like garland.
So pretty! What a beautiful thing to serve Christmas morning!