Crêpes Suzette

Add some French flair to your recipe repertoire with this elevated take on the humble pancake. A guaranteed showstopper, there’s a reason this decades-old dish is a much-loved sweet treat

📝 Ingredients

• 55 g unsalted butter
• 100 g plain flour
• 2 medium eggs
• 250 ml milk
• zest of 1 orange
• 200 ml freshly squeezed orange juice (from 2-3 oranges)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 4 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 2-5 tbsp Grand Marnier (other citrusy liqueurs, such as Curaçao or Cointreau can also be used, or brandy)
• 75 g unsalted butter, cubed
• vanilla ice cream
• julienned orange peel

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Start with the crêpes: gently melt the butter in a 19cm base diameter frying pan – the same one you’ll be making the pancakes in. Pour the butter into a small bowl, leaving a little in the pan. Sift the flour into a separate large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack in the eggs and pour in the milk and 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Whisk until the flour has been incorporated and the batter is smooth. Whisk in the orange zest with a pinch of salt. Leave to rest for 10 minutes at room temperature – this will allow the starch grains to swell and lighten the mixture (or you can rest the batter for longer in the fridge; give it another whisk before using it).
2. 2Reheat the frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Lower the heat slightly, pour in a ladleful of batter and swirl the pan to coat. Cook for about 1 minute each side until they have a golden speckled appearance, then remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 crêpes in total, layering the pancakes between sheets of baking paper and using the reserved melted butter to grease the pan when needed.
3. 3For the sauce, add the citrus juices, orange zest, sugar and 2 tablespoons of the Grand Marnier to a 23cm base diameter shallow pan. Bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves and the sauce starts to gently bubble; about 3 minutes. Whisk in the butter, piece by piece, until melted then add a pinch of salt. You can prepare the pancakes and sauce to this point a few hours ahead of serving.
4. 4Increase the heat and briefly boil the sauce for 1-2 minutes, until slightly reduced and thickened. Fold the pancakes into quarters and add to the pan with the sauce. Continue to heat for a few minutes so the pancakes are warm and saturated, spooning the sauce over the pancakes. Arrange in the pan ready to serve. You can dish them up with some ice cream, but if you fancy a flambé, drizzle the remaining Grand Marnier over the pancakes and carefully heat the surface of the pancakes using a match or cook’s blowtorch – the flames will appear and then gradually die down as the alcohol burns off. Finish with the julienned orange peel, if you like.