Crepes Suzette Flambé With Grand Marnier

Pamper yourself to original crepes Suzette flambe with Grand Marnier. Learn how to ignite the orange sauce and succeed every time in making this spectacular French dessert. Not an expert at flambéing? Simply serve crepes alongside the sauce and vanilla ice cream.

With crepe au Grand Marnier, history has elevated the humble crepe into one of the top desserts served in upscale restaurants today.

What is crepe Suzette?

Crepe Suzette is a famous French dessert made with thin crepes and Suzette butter (beurre Suzette) - an orange sauce of caramelized sugar, butter, orange juice, zest of orange, and orange liqueur.

Again and again, in the origin of French desserts, the French crepe Suzette was created by mistake by 14-years old Henri Charpentier, who accidentally caught fire with the crepe sauce.

According to another legend, the real inverter of the first crêpes Suzette was Auguste Escoffier, who created a blend of Curacao liqueur and orange butter, all without the need to flambe.

Why you should try this recipe

• Crêpes Suzette soaked in the buttery orange sauce make a decadent dessert.

• Igniting the sauce with Grand Marnier in front of guests transforms the dessert into a show-stopping masterpiece.

• The crepes Suzette recipe is easy to make. It also has a make-ahead option: prepare French crepes in advance. The next day, make the sauce, flambe, and serve crepes.

Ingredients

For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.

• Flour: The recipe calls for all-purpose (aka plain) flour.

• Sugar: Use white sugar, granulated, or caster sugar to make the recipe.

• Salt enhances the flavors of crepes.

• Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature.

• Milk: Use whole or low-fat milk.

• Vanilla extract brings a beautiful flavor to the crepe batter.

• Citrus zest: Opt for organic lemon and orange to make fresh zest using a citrus zester. To make the orange peel without a citrus peeler, peel the fruit with a vegetable peeler and cut the peel into thin strips.

• Butter: Use unsalted butter with 82% fat content for a delicious caramelized sauce in this recipe.

• Orange juice: Use freshly-homemade or store-bought orange juice, or replace it with tangerine juice if desired.

• Grand Marnier is used to make crepes Suzette, but you can substitute it with Curaçao or Cointreau liqueurs. To make crepes kids-friendly, replace alcohol with the same amount of orange juice. You will surely omit to ignite the sauce.

Recipe variations

• Crepes Suzette without alcohol: Omit alcohol and use orange juice instead.

• Crepes Suzette with berry coulis: Omit to flambe crepes; instead, serve them with berry coulis, fresh strawberries, or cherries.

• Crepes Suzette with brandy: Replace Grand Marnier with your favorite brandy to flambe the crepes.

How to make crêpes Suzette

To make the crepe batter, place flour, sugar, salt, eggs, vanilla extract, lemon and orange zest, Grand Marnier, and melted butter in a large mixing bowl (photo 1) and mix with a hand whisk (photo 2).

Add half of the milk, gradually adding the remaining milk and water, and mix to get a smooth batter (photo 3). Cover the bowl with a plastic film and let it rest at room temperature for one hour.

Heat a crêpe pan over medium-high heat. Pour the crêpe batter into a thin layer in a pan - no need to grease. Cook one side for about 1 minute (photo 4).

Turn it over and cook another side until lightly browned, about 1 minute (photo 5). Repeat until all the batter has been used.

To make the Suzette sauce, melt butter and sugar in a frying pan (opt for a nonstick skillet) over medium-low heat until the sugar begins to caramelize (photo 6).

Add orange juice, Grand Marnier (be careful of the splash), and orange peel made with a channel knife or citrus peeler, and bring the sauce to a boil.

Fold each crepe twice (or in a triangle shape) and place 4-6 of them in the pan with the butter sauce to soak (photo 7). Cook for a few seconds and turn them over (photo 8).

To flambe, remove the pan from heat, add some Grand Marnier, and ignite carefully. Scratch a long-handled match and approach the hot sauce. Flames will appear for a few seconds. When the alcohol burns off, the fire will disappear.

Serve two crepes per person, and pour the remaining sauce over them. Accompany crepes with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired. Repeat the serving with the remaining crepes, making the sauce again. Bon appetit!

Expert Tips

1. Consult the French crepes recipe for helpful tips and tricks.
2. If you feel uncomfortable making flambeed crepes, omit the procedure of igniting with Grand Marnier.
3. Accompany the dessert with Sauternes, a French sweet wine.
4. Make-ahead option: Make crepes in advance, stack them between layers of parchment paper, wrap them in a plastic film, and refrigerate for up to three days.

Storing and freezing

Crepes Suzette are best served and eaten while they are still warm from the pan. Store leftover crepes (not flambeed) in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Can you freeze Crepes Suzette? It isn't recommended to freeze the flambeed crepes, but you can freeze plain crepes for up to two months.

Recipe FAQ

Love crepes? Try these next!

• Galette Bretonne
• Banana Nutella Crepes
• Beggar's Purses
• French Chocolate Crepes
• Or browse all the crepe recipes

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Recipe card

The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.

The recipe was adapted from http://www.aveceric.com. It was originally published on February 08, 2018. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.