Whisk Wednesday schedule calls for rabbit today, but I opted out because I couldn’t find it, didn’t want to find it, and couldn’t bring myself to make stew on the muggiest day of the year.
Now that my pathetic excuses have excused me, I will share with you the one recipe from Le Cordon Bleu at Home that I have made three times in the past two months. And, there will be a fourth and fifth and sixth. And, that says a lot, because most dishes and desserts do not get made more than once because I like to experiment. A third time means pay attention, go to the store and plan on spoiling someone this weekend
Crepes Suzette… a spectacular dessert that has always sounded intimidating, is now part of my regular menu and a year ago, I would have never believed this. Why is it that french food can make a good cook shudder as if the level of difficulty can only be mastered by a select few? Well, crepes suzette didn’t come from a well-trained french chef trying to press the culinary envelope. It came from a mistake!
Yes, Henri Carpenter was 14 years old, working as an assistant waiter in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo’s Café de Paris. As he was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the cordials caught fire. The prince decided the dish was to be named after the woman in his company, and it became Crepes Suzette.
According to Henri Charpentier, in his own words from Life A La Henri – Being The Memories of Henri Charpentier: (try to read this with a french accent; it gives it more life)
“It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought I was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious melody of sweet flavors I had every tasted. I still think so.”
Well, Mr. Henri Carpenter, I think so too. Buttery, orange liquor with crepes to soak all the flavors and force one to eat with a spoon to catch all the syrup is last meal delicious.
Make someone happy and invite them to your kitchen for Crepes Suzette. It’s so romantic that I do believe it could put one in the mood for a marriage proposal!
Recipe for Crepes Suzette (adapted from Le Cordon Bleu at Home, page 483)
Crepe Batter
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- grated zest of 1 orange
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup milk (I used fat free organic)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Prepare the crepes just as I did in this recipe for crepes stuffed with pears, walnut and feta. Stack crepes and prepare orange butter. You can make the crepes in advance.
Orange Butter
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- zest of 1 orange, grated fine
- 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 3 tablespoons Cointreau (I used Grand Marnier)
- 3 tablespoons cognac
- Combine first 4 ingredients; beat well to make an orange butter.
- Preheat oven to 350. Brush 1 teaspoon orange butter in middle of each crepe. Fold into quarters. Arrange on heating platter (to be placed in oven) with remaining butter. Warm in oven several minutes until hot.
- Heat last 2 ingredients in small saucepan over low heat. At table light the sauce with a match and pour over crepes.
NOTES: I found the recipe to be a little rich. I recommend making twice the amount of crepes. You may have some left over, but they can be frozen and then you can be your own judge as to how much orange butter and sauce you prefer.
{ 1 trackback }