The Crêpe Suzette became famous in elegant Parisian restaurants at the turn of the 20th century. You'll still see them on many dessert menus in France today.
There is some disagreement about the origin of the crêpe Suzette. One of the more interesting tales is that the dessert was created by mistake by 14-year-old assistant waiter, Henri Charpentier, in Monte Carlo's Café de Paris in 1895. He was preparing a dessert for the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom (then Prince of Wales), whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette.
This story was told by Charpentier himself in Life à la Henri, his autobiography:
"It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought it 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 medley of sweet flavors I had ever 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 ... [The Prince] ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup."
The story goes that the Prince requested that the new dish be named after his guest, Suzette. Thus, the Crêpe Suzette was born!
Here's our favorite recipe for making a Crêpe Suzette.
Ingredients:
- 110g/4oz sifted plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
- 50g/2oz butter
- 1 medium orange (grated zest only)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges)
- 1 small lemon (grated rind and juice)
- 3 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau
- 50g/2oz unsalted butter
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AdobeFirefly
RECIPE FOR ABOUT 15 CREPES - INSTRUCTIONS
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and break the eggs into it. Then begin whisking the eggs, incorporating any bits of flour from around the edge of the bowl as you do so.
- Next, gradually add small quantities of the milk and water mixture, still whisking. When all the liquid has been added, use a rubber spatula to scrape any bits of flour from around the edge into the center, then whisk once more until the batter is smooth, with the consistency of thin cream.
- Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl and use it to lubricate the pan, using some kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.
- Now, get the pan really hot; then turn the heat down to medium and, to start with, do a test pancake to see if you’re using the correct amount of batter. These little crêpes should be thinner than the basic pancakes, so when you’re making them, use ½ tbsp of batter at a time in a 18cm/7in pan. It’s also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. You can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it’s tinged gold as it should be.
- Flip the pancake over with a pan slice or palette knife - the other side will only need a few seconds - then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate. If the pancakes look a little bit ragged in the pan, this doesn't matter because they are going to be folded anyway.
You should end up with 15-16 crêpes.
Making the pancake sauce
- For the sauce, mix the orange juice, lemon juice and zest, and caster sugar in a bowl. At the same time, warm the plates on which you'll serve the crêpes.
- Melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce, and allow it to heat very gently.
- Then place the first crêpe in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half, and then in half again, to make a triangular shape.
- Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so the sauce runs back into the center, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they’re all reheated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.
- You can flamber them at this point if you like. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little liqueur or brandy into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.
Et voilà! A plate of delicious pancakes for you and your family to enjoy at any time of year!
A delicious Crêpe Suzette (Needpix CC0)
