Authentic French Crepes Suzette with Orange Butter Sauce

Who doesn’t know this classic of French cuisine ;D Le Crepes Suzette! Maybe not so much nowadays, but for a while these were the most common dessert in fancy restaurants ;D Largely because the final part of the recipe involves burning off the alcohol from the sauce, a little flambé as the French like to say. It’s a simple, delicate recipe with a little show at the end, how could it not be popular?

Nowadays I think it’s much less common, which is normal. It’s also more common to see crepes suzette served as breakfast at some bistro or creperie, which ends up being more natural, especially since the recipe is super simple, basically crepes with a citrus butter sauce, that’s it! Anyone can make it at home! This is a classic French dessert that’s absolutely delicious, and hey, you don’t need to do the flambé, it’s totally optional ;D

I used my classic crepe recipe (which never fails, no point in changing it), and went with Grand Marnier because it’s the most traditional liqueur, but you can use another orange liqueur like Orange Curaçao or Triple Sec without any problems. The oranges should be super sweet ones, but it’s also common to use other sweet citrus like tangerines ;D

This recipe serves about 3 to 4 portions, with each portion getting about 3 to 4 crepes. The flambé is normally done after serving the sauce on the plate, but since I’m making this at home, I don’t know if it’s a good idea to be playing with fire outside the kitchen, so I recommend doing the flambé in the pan and serving it ready to eat instead of experimenting with fire! Lets check the recipe!

Authentic French Crepes Suzette with Orange Butter Sauce

Servings: 4
Time: 25mins
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
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Uh lá lá Crepes Suzette... Come to think of it, this is a great recipe for Valentine's Day, just saying... maybe for next year? ;D

Ingredients

Crepes – 12 (To Taste)
Oranges – 3 Large
Sugar – 145g
Grand Marnier – 3 Tablespoons
Unsalted butter – 175g

Directions

Start by zesting 1 orange into a bowl, followed by the juice of 2 oranges into another bowl.
Place a small saucepan with water and the zest on the stove, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and drain the zest. Repeat the process once more (blanch the zest twice to make it sweeter and more tender).
In a large frying pan, add 175g of butter over medium heat. When the butter begins to bubble, add 145g of sugar and let it caramelize a little, no more than 2 minutes until it begins to caramelize.
Lower the heat and add the orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier. Let it cook for about 2 minutes while bubbling. If the alcohol does not catch fire, you can try lighting it with a match on the edge of the pan. In any case, the alcohol will begin to evaporate as it cooks. Keep stirring the sauce.
Finally, lower the heat to minimum and carefully add a crepe to the pan with the sauce. Fold the crepe in half and then again to form a triangle. Remove to a plate and repeat until you have 2 or 3 crepes on the plate, you really want to soak the crepes.
Repeat until you have filled all the plates. Serve with orange segments and a little more sauce on top. Bon appétit!

Notes: You can make the crepes in advance, check this recipe for just the crepe recipe! ;D They hold well for 1 day and will actually absorb the sauce beautifully, becoming creamy even if they were a bit dry.

If you’re nervous about flambéing, just let the alcohol cook off naturally – it’s totally fine!

Use a large skillet to give yourself room to fold the crepes comfortably.

The key is not to over-caramelize the sugar, just until it starts to turn golden.

Sweet oranges work best, but tangerines are a great alternative.

This recipe for Authentic French Crepes Suzette with Orange Butter Sauce was originally created on BakeAfter.com. Esta receita de Crepes Suzette foi publicada em português no Iguaria.com.