Crêpe suzette: the ricetta of the famous flambé dessert with salsa al Grand Marnier

The Crepe suzette is a dessert of origins Monegasque among the most loved and popular in France. Their preparation does not involve great difficulties, but only a few simple precautions. Once the crepes have been made with a smooth and homogeneous batter prepared with eggs, milk and flour, they are closed in a wallet, placed in a pan and dipped in a velvety sauce based on melted butter, sugar, lemon juice and orange zest. Then they are sprinkled with Grand Marnier liqueur and flambéed: for a spectacular and effective dessert ideal to be served as a delicious at the end of the meal or for one snack greedy and refined, perhaps accompanied by a scoop of cream or chocolate ice cream.

If you prefer you can simply cook the omelettes in a pan and then fill them with hazelnut spread, diced apple or fresh fruit compote, or you can prepare a wholemeal variant or lightwithout milk or eggs, also suitable for intolerant people.

Il flamed it’s a cooking method which consists in setting a plate on fire by setting fire to an alcoholic liquid. It can be used to dissolve fats, to quickly evaporate alcohol, to amaze guests or, as in this case, to caramelize the sugars present in the sauce and orange juice, thus giving a particular flavor to the dessert. The chefs make the flambé directly from the stove by tilting the pan, but if you are not an expert we suggest you have a long match to light the fire and remove the pan from the flame before adding the liqueur. If you don’t have the Grand Marnier you can replace it with cognac, gin, rum, or other distillate with a high alcohol content (around 40 °).

The crêpe suzette seems to have been born by chance, or rather by mistake, al Cafè de Paris in Montecarloby Henry Charpentier, young apprentice of chef Auguste Escoffier, as a dessert for Edward VII, Prince of Wales. Charpentier, taken by the excitement of such an important task, dropped some drops of liqueur on the crepe which, in contact with the fire, flared. Served equally as prince of wales pancakes it was so successful that the prince asked for more and wanted to dedicate it to the beautiful Suzette, daughter of a dear friend and diner. Equally romantic is the version that wants it created in 1897, in full Belle Époque, al Restaurant Marivaux of Paris, by the maître Josèph, in honor of the actress Suzanne Reichenberg, known as Suzette, complete with table service with flambé effects.

Find out how to prepare the crepe suzette by following the step by step procedure and advice.

How to prepare crepe suzette

Sift the flour 1 in a bowl.

Combine the sugar 2.

Pour in the milk 3.

Mix well with a whisk 4.

Separately, beat the eggs 5 with a pinch of salt.

Add the beaten eggs to the mixture 6.

Mix well 7 until the batter is smooth and free of lumps.

Cover with cling film 8 and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.

After the rest time has elapsed, butter a non-stick pan 9 and put on the fire.

As soon as the pan is hot, pour in a ladle of batter 10 and distribute evenly on the bottom.

Cook the crepe on one side 11.

As soon as bubbles have formed on the surface, gently flip the crepe over and continue cooking on the other side 12.

Once ready, stack the crêpes on a plate 13 and keep aside.

Make the sauce: In the same pan, pour the sugar and butter 14and let it melt gently.

It smells with the grated rind of oranges 15.

Pour in the lemon juice 16and melt the sugar completely.

Wrap the crêpes and place them in the pan 17.

Irritate with the Grand Marnier 18 and, with the help of a long match, ignite the liqueur and let it flames for a few moments; then put out the flame by covering it with a lid.

Arrange the crêpes on a serving plate 19bring to the table and serve.

storage

We suggest you eat the hot crepe suzette at the moment. Alternatively, you can prepare the crepes in advance and keep them in the fridge, covered with cling film, for 2 days massimo.