BN Cuisine with Chef Fregz: The Retro Finale: Crêpe Suzette

Salut et Bonjour a toutes!

This last week has been a cocktail of malaria, cough, sore throat and a cold – like with a nice umbrella and fruit garnish. Like my friend Taio Sai “I feel like a petri dish of viruses” but that was about a week ago (abeg just ‘LOL’ small if you get it… if you don’t no whahala thanks) but finally I’m back on my two feet. Thank God!

So for the finale of my cooking with booze series we are going to end on sweet note! I decided to hit you all with the classic crepe suzette. French desserts, to me, are everything… and this classic isn’t left out.

This is also an easy way to end your dinner party and still look like a superhero chef without stressing too much. You could even make a bit and put in a deep oven dish, add  the syrup; scatter a few raspberries and more orange segments and add to your christmas buffet spread. You could do also do this for a grown up brunch perhaps.

Crepe suzette is pretty much crepes that have been tossed in a boozy orange sauce, which is made up of orange (zest and juice), orange liqueur, caramelised sugar and butter. The liqueur is added at the end and is flambéed (set ablaze) and can be served with ice-cream. Sometimes tangerine juice is used in place of orange.

The Booze for today: Fruity Liqueur. Orange liqueur.

Today we are looking at fruit flavoured drinks. I love fruit infused vodkas for example. Lemon Vodka for the win any day! Wait a minute, there’s this passion fruit one as well. Yes! But today we would focus a little on Grand Mariner and Cointreau.

I couldn’t decide on one because of a few reasons. 1. They are both prized French products. 2. There very similar ones; but the Grand Mariner is a brandy/coganc-based drink, while the cointreau is a triple sec.

The Grand mariner has a more bitter orange flavour with some spicy woody notes to it. The Contrieau on the other hand has a lighter taste, which isn’t completely sweet but not as strong and woody as the Grand mariner orange. It also as some spice notes like cinnamon and cloves to it. But at the end of the day, the difference is almost minute. The cointreau is light and the grand mariner is dark and has a slightly deeper flavour – because it’s a brandy. Essentially, it’s down to you what you want.

It was tough making a decision but I went with Cointreau mostly because I forgot to pick up in Victoria Island. La Pointe stocks it as well as other stores around.

I’m just going probably burn my sugar a little more for a bitter orange taste.

The history of the name and how it was invented is highly disputed. One claim is that it was created from a mistake made by a young assistant waiter named Henri Charpentier in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo’s Café de Paris. Apparently he was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales at the time, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette. So, the mistake was loved by the prince and when asked what the name was it Henir said it was “Crepe Princesse” but The Prince asked if it could be changed to crepe Suzette in honour of his guest. But some people claim it can’t be true as he was too young and not senior staff enough to serve the Prince of Wales. Another story claims it was name after a french actress. – Source: Wikipedia

All this he said and she said don’t matter to me now. what is our own… the dish is here now and that’s what matters. All thanks to the French anyway!

For this recipe I have added segmented oranges to the mix as well as raspberries for garnish. If you don’t have Contrieau or don’t wanna spend so much. Just buy a good but yet affordable brandy and add a little more orange juice and zest to the mix. Chocolate ice-cream can work here as well. orange and chocolate are good friends.

Here’s what you’ll need {Serves 4-5}

Crepes
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon orange liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup melted butter

Orange Sauce
50g unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons granulated/caster sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange liqueur (I really just pour away till I am happy. Recipes are just guidelines)
3 oranges, peeled and sectioned.
Vanilla ice cream or Orange flavoured whipped cream to serve.

How To

Start by making your batter. Make sure you have a good non stick pan on had to cook the crepes. In a bowl add the all the dry ingredients and mix well. Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, liqueur, half of the melted butter, vanilla extract and pour the milk in slowly or on notches as you which from the middle –  pulling all the flour from the sides slowly so you have a smooth batter without any lumps…. or like Dooney does stick the ingredients in a blender and whizz everything to smoothness.

With some kitchen paper or serviette rub the pan with some of the melted butter. When it s just hot, add about a ladle full of the batter and swirl around to one end of the pancake and swirl around quickly till evenly spread. Flip, once cooked, and cook the other side for another 30 seconds or till cooked through. Continue till your batter is done.

When cool enough to handle, fold your crepes into triangles. Halfway first then into a quarter and you get a triangle. Cover with foil or keep warm in the oven.

In the same pan, add the orange juice, sugar, and zest and allow to bubble on a medium heat till it becomes a light-dark brown. At this point add the folded crepes, and shake around so it s well coated. Then add the grand mariner or whatever booze you’re using flambé it by shaking it around till the flames catch the liqueur and fire happens. Add the segmented oranges and allow them warm through.

To serve, arrange the crepes nicely on a plate and top with the segments and raspberries. Dust with a little icing sugar and voila! Crepes suzette done.

In case you missed it, the Lord crown my year with goodness! I signed on as a Samsung Ambassador *cues Timaya’s Sanko and Swos away* Please follow on Instagram and Twitter @chef_fregz and like us on Facebook Chef Fregz for updates and yumminess and of course giveaways. e fit be you o!

Chef Fregz Special is also on the 28th of December 2014 at GET Arena…it’s 9 days away now! Have you selected your baffs? Come with a friend and enjoy some good food! Here’s the menu below!

Aye
Rosemary Orange Glazed Chicken. Herb Roast Potatoes. Sauteed Vegetables. Mulled Port Jus.
3,500

Girlie O
Seared Pork Chops. Black Pepper Roasted Carrots. English Pea Puree. Plum Port Cream Sauce. Mushrooms and Kale.
3,700

Chairman
Short Pasta. Confit Garlic Vodka Cream Sauce. Prawns Shrimps. Herbs and. Fennel. Rocket Puree
3,800

All I Want For Christmas Is You
Salted Speculoos Cheesecake. Vanilla Cream. Red Fruit Coulis.
2,000

Carrot Carol
Warm Carrot Cake.‎ Cold Cheesecake Frosting Cream. Lemon Syrup.
2,000

Photo Credit: Gbubemi Fregene for Chef Fregz