Flambéed citrus Crêpe Suzette
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Course | Dessert |
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Place of origin | France |
Main ingredients | Crêpe, beurre Suzette (caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao liqueur) |
Crêpe Suzette (pronounced: [kʁɛp syˈzɛt]) is a French dessert consisting of a crêpe with beurre Suzette (pronounced: [bœʁ syzɛt]), a sauce of caramelized sugar and butter, tangerine or orange juice, zest, and Grand Marnier or orange Curaçao liqueur on top, prepared in a tableside performance, flambé.
The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour liqueur (usually Grand Marnier or Blue Curacao) over a freshly-cooked crêpe with sugar and ignite it. This will make the alcohol in the liqueur evaporate, resulting in a fairly thick, caramelised sauce.
The origin of the dish and its name is disputed. One claim is that it was created from a mistake made by a fourteen-year-old assistant waiter Henri Charpentier in 1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, whose guests included a beautiful French girl named Suzette. This story was told by Charpentier himself in Life à la Henri, his autobiography, although later contradicted by the Larousse Gastronomique.
It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought it 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 medley of sweet flavors I had ever 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 Crêpes 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 skirt wide with her hands she made him a curtsey. 'Will you,' said His Majesty, 'change Crêpes Princesse to Crêpes 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.