Crêpes Suzette
History of Crepes Suzette:
The dish was created out of a mistake made by a fourteen year-old assistant waiter Henri Carpentier (1880-1961) in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo’s Cafe Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII (1841-1910) of England. The cordials in the sauce he was making caught fire, Henri tasted it and discovered that the crêpes tasted even better and decided to serve the dessert, naming it after the prince's companion, a beautiful French girl named Suzette.
According to Henri Charpentier, in own words from Life A La Henri – Being The Memories of Henri Charpentier:
“It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought I was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious melody of sweet flavors I had every tasted. I still think so. That accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be called Crepes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and holding her little shirt wide with her hands she made him a curtsey. ‘Will you,’ said His Majesty, ‘change Crepes Princesse to Crepes Suzette?’ Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane.”
Crêpes Suzette is traditionally a flambéed dessert. The recipe from Bobby Flay is not flambéed and is served with vanilla ice cream, the one from Nigella Lawson is and is closer to the original dessert and is served without ice cream. You can substitute Triple Sec or other orange liqueur for the Grand Marnier in the recipes.
Crêpes Suzette
Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay
Crepes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup clarified butter
Sauce:
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)
3 oranges, peeled and sectioned
Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Crepes:
Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a large bowl until pale. Whisk in 1 1/2 cups of the milk, orange liqueur, vanilla, and orange zest and flour until combined. If the mixture is too thick, add the remaining milk until a thin consistency is achieved. Cover and refrigerate batter for 30 minutes.
Heat an 8-inch crepe pan or skillet over medium heat for about 1 minute. Cover the surface of the pan with clarified butter until it gets sizzling hot. Ladle some batter onto the middle of the crepe pan and immediately start swirling the pan to distribute the batter over the surface. Cook for 45 to 60 seconds or until lightly golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side for 20 seconds. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.
Sauce:
In a large skillet over high heat, bring the orange juice to a boil. Add the sugar and zest, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the sugar has melted and the mixture is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the orange liqueur and orange sections. Set aside.
Working in batches, gently place a crepe into the pan holding the orange juice and orange sections. Leave for 1 minute to absorb some juice. Using a narrow spatula, remove the crepe to a warm serving plate. Repeat with remaining crepes. Roll the crepes into a cylinder. Spoon on some of the orange sections. Serve 2 crepes per person. Top with vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.
4 servings
Crêpes Suzette
By Nigella Lawson, https://www.nytimes.com/
This is just one of those desserts that seem, on the page as on the plate, to be labor-intensive and tricky, but in fact are as simple to make as they are gratifying to eat. For one thing, you can make the crepes in advance; they could sit, piled between torn-off sheets of baking parchment and well wrapped in the refrigerator, for a good three days without coming to any harm.
8 to 12 crepes (see Alton Brown’s recipe - can add 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, 1 tablespoon orange zest and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for added flavor)
Sauce:
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup superfine sugar
For finishing:
1/3 cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec liqueur
In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, zest, butter and sugar. Place over high heat and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Fold crepes into quarters, and arrange in circular pattern, slightly overlapping, in a nonreactive skillet or other shallow flameproof pan. Pour warm syrup on top (reserve syrup pan), and place over low heat until crepes are warm, about 5 minutes.
Warm liqueur in pan that held orange syrup. When crepes are hot, pour liqueur on top; carefully touch a flame to surface to light it. Serve immediately, spooning crepes and sauce onto each plate.
