Recipe by Marcelle Bienvenu
Crêpes Suzette often appeared on restaurant menus in New Orleans. According to culinary lore, this dish was accidently created by a young chef, Henri Charpentier, at the Café de Paris in Monaco around 1895 while preparing dessert for Prince Edward VII of England. The sauce caught fire, delighting the prince, and it was named after a lady present at the table.
Crêpes Suzette
Makes about 4 servings
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- ⅓ cup fresh orange juice
- 3 tablespoons brandy
Instructions
- Combine the eggs, melted butter, the milk, vanilla, ¼ cup water, salt, and flour in a blender, and blend until smooth. The batter should be thick enough to lightly coat a spoon. If it is too thick, add a little more water.
- Lightly oil a small skillet with a paper towel dipped in oil. Heat the small skillet over medium-high heat. When it is hot, thinly cover the bottom of it with batter. When the edge of the crêpe turns brown and small holes appear (about 1 minute), turn the crêpe and cook for about 30 seconds longer.
- Turn the crêpe out onto a paper towel and repeat the procedure until all the batter is used.
- Place the butter and sugar in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring until the sugar is caramelized and the color of amber. Add the orange zest and juice, a little at a time, and continue stirring until all the juice has been added and the mixture is smooth.
- Reduce the heat to simmer, and add 8 crêpes, one by one, placing each flat in the skillet, and spooning the sauce over it. Fold the crêpes in half and in half again to form triangles. When all the crêpes have been sauced and folded, remove and place on desired serving dish. Reserve any remaining crêpes for another use.
- Add brandy to the skillet and ignite carefully; cook until flames are extinguished. Spoon sauce over the crêpes. Serve 2 crêpes per person with some of the sauce. Bring on the café brûlot!
Notes
Kitchen Tip
This recipe feeds just a few people, but you can double or triple the recipe. Any unused crêpes can be refrigerated or frozen (in between sheets of wax paper) for later use.
This recipe feeds just a few people, but you can double or triple the recipe. Any unused crêpes can be refrigerated or frozen (in between sheets of wax paper) for later use.
