Crêpes Suzette

May 7, 2018

For the batter:

Makes around 6 pancakes (depending on the size of the pan)

  • 3 eggs
  • 210 ml of full fat milk
  • 15-20g of sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 90g of plain flour
  • pinch of salt
  • grated zest of one orange or lemon
  • sunflower oil to fry

To make the batter:

  • Mix very well all the ingredients ensuring there are no lumps.
  • Leave the mixture in the fridge to rest for 1 hour.
  • Heat a frying pan with couple of drops of oil (repeat for each pancake).
  • Spread evenly a thin layer of the batter all over the pan and fry on both sides.
  • If possible try not to stack them one on top of another.

For the orange sauce:

  • thin strips of zest of 1/2 orange (unwaxed)
  • 30ml of water
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 45g unsalted butter
  • 150ml of freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 oranges)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of corn flour (you can add more if you like your sauce thicker) dissolved in a bit of water
  • a table spoon of Grand Marnier or other good quality orange liqueur

*for decoration you can cut 1 orange into segments (peeled)

Start with blanching the orange zest for a couple of minutes in a boiling water, or pour boiling water into a bowl with the orange zest and leave it for 5 minutes. Then drain and leave on the side.

To make the sauce, mix the sugar with water and set to cook on a medium heat. After a few minutes it should start to bubble. From the translucent liquid it should change its colour into a golden, light brown. Be careful not to burn as it is very easy and quick at this stage.

Now add the butter (which stops the sugar from caramelising). Once the butter has melted add the orange juice and after a minute add the dissolved corn flour. Return the mixture to bubble and now the sauce should start to thicken.

Now add the orange liqueur and the orange zest.

Spread a couple of tablespoons of the sauce on another pan that will be used to heat up the pancakes. Fold the pancakes and lay them on top of the sauce in the pan and spoon more sauce on top of the pancakes. Gently heat the pan making sure you are not burning the sauce.

Once warm transfer the pancakes onto a serving dish, decorate with the orange segments and some more sauce up to your liking. Additionally you can serve them with a dollop of crème fraîche or a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.