Crêpes Suzettes

Recipe:

Ingredients for the crêpes:
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water, 50g/2oz butter, 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 tbsp caster sugar

Ingredients for the sauce:
150ml/5fl oz orange juice (from 3-4 medium oranges), 1 medium orange, grated zest only, 1 small lemon, grated rind and juice, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 3 tbsp Grand Marnier/ Cointreau/ brandy, 50g/2oz unsalted butter, a little extra Grand Marnier, for flaming

Instructions:
- Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl so they’re well aired, then make a well in the centre of the flour and break the eggs into it. Whisk in the eggs incorporating insuring everything is well mixed.
- Next, very gradually add the milk and water mixture, still whisking as you do so. Then whisk a few more times insuring all the flour, egg and milk mix makes a smooth batter, with the consistency of thin cream. Now melt the 50g/2oz of butter in a pan. Spoon 2 tbsp of it into the batter and whisk it in, then pour the rest into a bowl for use in the frying pan, using a wodge of kitchen paper to smear it round before you make each pancake. Finally, Stir the orange zest and caster sugar into the batter.
- Now get the pan really hot, then turn the heat down to medium. Practise on the first pancake to see if you're using the correct amount of batter. These crêpes should be very thin. It's also helpful if you spoon the batter into a ladle so it can be poured into the hot pan in one go. As soon as the batter hits the hot pan, tip it around from side to side to get the base evenly coated with batter. It should take only half a minute or so to cook; you can lift the edge with a palette knife to see if it's tinged gold as it should be. Flip the pancake over. The other side will only need a few seconds. Then simply slide it out of the pan onto a plate.
- Stack the pancakes as you make them between sheets of greaseproof paper on a plate fitted over simmering water, to keep them warm while you make the rest.
- For the sauce, mix everything but the butter in a bowl. At the same time warm the plates on which the crêpes are going to be served. Now melt the butter in the frying pan, pour in the sauce and allow it to heat very gently. Then place the first crêpe in the pan and give it time to warm through before folding it in half and then in half again to make a triangular shape. Slide this onto the very edge of the pan, tilt the pan slightly so some of the sauce runs back into the centre, then add the next crêpe. Continue like this until they're all re-heated, folded and well soaked with the sauce.
- If you’re feeling adventurous, you can flame them at this point. Heat a ladle by holding it over a gas flame or by resting it on the edge of a hotplate, then, away from the heat, pour a little liqueur or brandy into it, return it to the heat to warm the spirit, then set light to it. Carry the flaming ladle to the table over the pan and pour the flames over the crêpes before serving on the warmed plates.

Region details:
‘Crêpes’ originated in Brittany the word itself comes from the Latin, meaning curled, which is what happens to the edge of the crepes when frying in the pan. Due to hugely popular creation of ‘crêpe suzette', the word ‘crêpe’ seeped into the English language in the 1970’s and 80’s when a vast interest in French food broke out and ‘crêperies’ appeared up and down England. Brittany is also famous for their ‘galettes’, a type of pancake made with buckwheat flour, the crop of which is farmed a lot in the region, as the mix is so heavy, the pancake appears more lace-like, as opposed to less holey crêpe. An English equivalent of this food is the well-loved crumpet also holey and made with batter.