Ingredients for 8 people:
- 5 oranges
- 2 lemons
- 250 g (9 ounces) of brown sugar
- 150 ml (8 tablespoons) Grand Marnier (optional). If one does not
have Grand Marnier, Cointreau can be used instead.
- 8 crêpes. One can either buy these or make them using a Crêpe
Recipe.
Preparing the Sauce:
• Squeeze the oranges until you have 400 ml (14 fluid ounces) of
orange juice. This is about 5 oranges but depending on the
oranges could be more or less.
• Put the orange juice into a frying pan. Add juice of 2 lemons and
the brown sugar.
• Heat the juice to a low simmer and allow it to simmer until most
of the liquid has boiled off and the resulting liquid is moderately
thick (but still liquid).
• Take the pan off the heat and pour it into a container (not
plastic!)
Preparing the Crêpes
One can either buy the Crêpes, or prepare them using a crêpe
mixture, or make them using a Crêpe Recipe. If one is making the
crêpes, this can be done at the same time as the sauce is simmering.
Serving
• Pour a small amount of sauce into a frying pan and warm to
almost boiling.
• Place a crêpe into the sauce for a few seconds to warm it up and
to allow the sauce to soak in. Use a couple of spoons to fold it
in half, then fold it in half again. Place the crêpe at the edge of
the frying pan to keep it warm.
• Repeat the above two steps until you have done a crêpe for
everyone.
• Place a crêpe onto a plate for each person.
• If you have more crêpes than people, you can put more than
one crêpe onto a plate. Alternatively, you can put the extra
crêpes into a warming disk to keep them warm until they are
ready to be served (to guests that want seconds).
• Pour a tablespoon (20 ml) of the Grand Marnier over each crepe
and light. Although this step is part of the traditional recipe, if
one has objections to alcohol or is serving this dessert to
children, it can be omitted and the dessert will still be very
tasty.
• Serve immediately as the crêpes need to be eaten while still
warm.
Notes:
• If one heats the plates before placing the crêpes on them, this will help keep
the crêpes warm.
• Some people grate the oranges before squeezing and then add some of the
orange zest to the sauce. This is optional, depending on personal
preferences.
• For more information about crêpes and crêpe recipes, click on Crêpe
Recipes.
History:
The origin of this recipe and its name is disputed. The most common explanation is
that it was created by accident by Waiter Hanri Charpentier in 1895 when he was
preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII of England)
and his companion whose first name was Suzette. In his autobiography, Henri
Carpentier said:
“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. That
accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those
various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with
a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the
name of that which he had eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be
called Crepes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender
and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock
ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and
holding her little shirt wide with her hands she made him a curtsey. ‘Will you,’
said His Majesty, ‘change Crepes Princesse to Crepes Suzette?’ Thus was born
and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would
reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a
present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane.”
There are a number of variations of the above, in terms of the relationship between
Price Edward and Suzette (i.e. was she just the daughter of a guest, or his lover?),
as well as whether it was Monsieur Charpentier who was serving or in fact the head
waiter (which would normally seem more likely).
There are also a few alternative explanations, but they are less accepted. One is
that the recipe was created by chef Monsieur Joseph. It is said that he invented the
disk for a German actress, Suzanne 'Suzette' Reichenburg. Alternatively, it is said
that there was a play running with a maid named Suzette and Monsieur Joseph
supplied the play with a daily allotment of pancakes, which he named after the
maid.
Another version is that the recipe was created by chef Jean Reboux for King Louis
XV at the request of Princess Suzette de Carignan.
No matter what the origins, the recipe dates from the late 19th century.
The recipe was popularised in the US by Monsieur Charpentier, who became John
D. Rockefeller's chef in the USA. Whether he actually invented the dish during his
earlier employment as claimed in his autobiography is disputed
Crêpes Suzette with Ice Cream