Crepe Suzettes
Submitted by brianjwood on April 07, 2004 at 2:54 am

DESCRIPTION
Crepe Suzettes

SUMMARY
Yield 0 File under Misc. Recipes & Requests

INSTRUCTIONS
Crepes Suzette

For the crepes
4oz plain flour, sifted
2 medium eggs
pinch of salt
7 fl. oz. Milk mixed with
3 fl. oz water
grated zest of 1 medium orange
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 oz butter

For the sauce
Grated zest of 1 medium orange
Grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
1 tbsps caster sugar
3 – 4 tbsps Gran Marnier or Cointreau (you could use brandy)
2 oz unsalted butter
extra Gran Marnier for flaming

Sift the flour and salt into a basin (hold the sieve high to get plenty of air in the flour). Make a well in the centre of the flour, break the eggs in and start whisking, making sure to get all the flour mixed in fully. Then slowly add the milk/water mix, whisking continuously until the batter is made and any lumps are gone. It should have the consistency of thin cream. Add the zest and caster sugar and whisk to dissolve the sugar. Melt the butter gently but fully and add 2 tbsps to the batter and whisk in well. Reserve the remaining butter for cooking the pancakes. Get a 7 inch pan (non stick preferably) really hot, smear some of the melted butter over the pan with a wad of kitchen paper. Tip 1 ½ tbsps of batter into the pan and quickly swirl round to cover the bottom. It doesn’t matter if they are ragged, they are folded later. Cook for about ½ minute, lifting the edges with a spatula to check. When slightly golden in colour, flip over and do the other side – this should only take 15 – 20 seconds. Repeat until all the batter is used up, stacking the crepes on a plate with greaseproof paper between each one. You should get 15 – 16 crepes, thinner than normal pancakes. You can do these a day or two ahead and keep, covered, in the fridge.

For the sauce, mix all the ingredients except the butter in a bowl. Warm the serving plates. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the sauce mix and heat through gently. Add the first crepe, give it time to warm through, then fold in half, then half again – it will be roughly triangular. Push the crepe well to the edge, tilting the pan slightly to let all the sauce drain off, and repeat the process with all the other crepes. Now, if you are brave, warm a small ladle over a flame, then off the flame pour the extra Gran Marnier into the ladle, tip it slightly over the flame to get it alight. Carry the crepes (in the fry pan) to the table and pour the flaming spirit into the pan in fron of your guests. Shake until the flames die out (the pan shakes, not you!) then serve onto the warm plates, 2 or 3 crepes per serving. If the ladle approach worries you, heat the spirit in a small saucepan, set light to it and pour it into the fry pan in the kitchen, then carry the flaming pan into the dining area.

Tips; add 1 tbsps Gran Marnier into the batter mix, reducing the water by 1 tbsp. Add the juice of the orange as well as the lemon to the sauce. This gives slightly more sauce which helps. Make sure the pan for cooking the crepes is really hot to be successful. They should take no more than 30 seconds to cook the first side, 15 seconds for the other side. Try to find a ladle or spoon that just holds the right amount of batter for one crepe. That way you don’t have to think about how much to pour in each time.