A whole lot fancier than your average pancake, Crêpes Suzette is a traditional French dessert that exudes style and sophistication. This simple recipe of crêpe pancakes and a decadently boozy orange syrup is the perfect dish to conclude a dinner party – especially if you execute a dazzling flambé.
Despite its reputation as a meal reserved for flashy restaurants, Crêpes Suzette are easy to put together at home. Crêpes are very light pancakes, so will be familiar to all pancake-day-celebrators, but with a runnier batter and shorter cooking time.
The syrupy sauce which elevates Crêpes Suzette to truly sumptuous heights is a basic reduction of sugar, butter, orange juice, and orange liqueur. Grand Marnier is the traditional liqueur for this recipe, but a bottle of Cointreau or Triple Sec also works perfectly.
Orange liqueur is also the magic ingredient for flambéing your Crêpes Suzette. When the pancakes are doused in booze, holding a match to them sets alight a beautiful display of flames that will both infuse your dessert with a rich, spirited kick and look spectacular!
Ingredients
Crêpes:
- 140g all-purpose flour
- 200ml milk
- 25g unsalted butter (plus a little more for frying)
- 2 eggs
- Pinch of salt
Orange Liqueur Syrup:
- 100ml orange liqueur
- 2 large oranges
- 175g butter
- 75g caster sugar
How to Make Crêpes
- Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the middle
- Break the eggs into the well and gently whisk together
- Pour the milk in a small splash at a time, whisking constantly
- Melt the butter and pour it into the mixture, giving it a final stir
- Warm a frying pan on medium heat and grease it with a knob of butter
- Use a ladle to spoon a small amount of the crêpe mixture into the pan and quickly swirl it so that it thinly covers the base
- Fry on one side for around 45 seconds, then flip and cook for a further 30 seconds or until just turning brown
- Continue until the batter is finished, storing the pancakes on a plate with a roll of baking parchment between each crêpe to ensure they don’t stick together
How to Make Crêpes Suzette
- Grate the zest of 1 orange and juice 2 oranges
- Place the orange juice, orange zest, butter, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to a simmer and stir regularly for 10 minutes until the liquid has become thick and syrupy
- Returning to the crêpes, fold all the pancakes into quarters and arrange them in a large pan, baking tray, or heatproof container
- Pour the orange syrup over the pancakes and warm the pan on a very low heat for a couple of minutes before removing and placing on a clean, empty surface
- Pour 100ml of orange liqueur evenly over the crêpes
- Using a safety gas lighter or long match, set light to the crêpes and enjoy the effects of the flambé (it looks even better with the lights off!)
- After the fire has gone out, serve the crêpes with a generous spooning of sauce