Retro central.
“Crepes Suzette” the very mention of them conjures up images of dinner parties replete with prawn cocktails and steak Diane and hostesses hovering around their hostess trolleys. But now retro is in and for your own “Abigail’s Party” what could be better.
The Crepe Suzette of course is a pretty nifty invention – a simple pancake (or crepe being the uber skinny Francais version) sozzled in a sauce dripping with booze, butter and sugar with a nod towards some oranges.
Here is my version which relies on making things in advance and appearing relaxed and effortless over the frying pan.
[recipe title=”Orange Curd Crepes Suzette” servings=”4-6″ time=”2hr 30mins” difficulty=”fair to middling difficult”]
Gadgets & Gizmos
A frying pan that doesn’t stick or life will be miserable
Ingredients
1 stack of pancakes made with beer – They taste better. You can make them the day before and refrigerate them.
Crepes Suzette Sauce:
100g butter
100g sugar
150ml fresh orange juice (I like to also use the zest of another orange and then slice that one very thinly and add to the sauce to poach the slices and then serve with the pancake)
2- 3 tbsp orange zest
3-6 tbsp of traditionally Grand marnier but not everybody has that lying around so I tend to put in extra orange zest and use a mixture of brandy and vodka
To make the sauce: Heat the butter and sugar in a frying pan very slowly resisting the temptation to stir because the sugar can crystallise. As soon as it starts to caramelise ie turn a copper colour remove it from the heat and add the orange juice taking care that it does not explode/spatter in your face. Caramelised sugar is exceptionally hot! Let it simmer a little so it thickens and all the caramel is incorporated in the sauce.
Now add the zest and the alcohol.
To make orange curd Crepes Suzette, spread the crepes with some orange curd and fold into hankerchief quarters. Place in the pan to warm through and serve with the sauce poured over.
Finish with an Irish Coffee why not? [/recipe]