Crêpes Suzette
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes 5-6 crepes (depending on pan size)
For Crepes
- 150g/5ozs. plain all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Pinch salt
- 400ml/14 flozs whole milk
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 40g/1.4ozs melted butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Oil or butter for frying
For Sauce
- 170g/6ozs butter, softened
- 100g/3.5ozs white sugar
- Finely grated zest of 2 medium oranges
- 90ml/3flozs. orange juice
- 90ml3flozs. Grand Marnier
- Fat pinch of salt
- Finely sliced orange zest to decorate
Step 1 - Whisk the flour, sugar and salt in a medium sized bowl. In a jug whisk the milk, eggs, butter and vanilla bean paste and whisk the wet mixture in gradually into the dry mixture. If there are lumps, pass the batter through a sieve.
Step 2 - Heat a crepe pan or frying pan (mine was 30cm/12inches) and heat with a little oil or butter on low medium heat. Take a ladle of batter and take the pan off the heat and pour the batter and turn the pan so that it the batter spreads across the whole pan. You want them as thin as possible. Lower heat down to low and check after a minute to see if the bottom side is cooked, then flip over. Slide onto a large plate and repeat with the remaining batter to get around 5-6 crepes. If you are making the crepes for a later date or want to refrigerate or freeze them, place parchment paper between each crepe.
Step 3 - While the crepes are cooking, make the sauce. Add the butter, sugar, zest, orange juice, Grand Marnier and salt to a small saucepan and allow the butter to melt. Heat to a simmer while whisking occasionally for 8-10 minutes. The mixture should emulsify and become syrupy.
Step 3B Thermomix - Make the sauce. Place the peel of 2 oranges and sugar in the bowl and grind for 10 seconds, speed #10. Scrape down sides and repeat, it should be very fine. Add juice and Grand Marnier and heat for 3 minutes/100C/speed #1. Remove lid and when temperature reaches 60C add butter cubes and salt and set to 60C/2 minutes/Speed #3 or until syrupy.
Step 4 - Return a crepe to the pan and pour over a ladle full of the syrup. Allow to coat both sides of the crepe and then gently fold over in the pan like a handkerchief. Place on a serving plate or platter and repeat with the rest of the crepes using up all of the sauce. Pour over the remaining sauce in the frying pan on top of the plate. Decorate with finely sliced orange zest.
Step 5 - To flambé, add a couple of splashes of Grand Marnier to the crepes and light it on fire at the table. Be sure to use a long handled lighter (I avoid using matches) to light it and be careful.