Crêpes Suzette in Orange Syrup--To Warm up

Originally, I had a very different idea for today's recipe but, with the subzero temperatures around, a frozen dessert I thought about seemed too cold. Instead, I will share my recipe for crêpes Suzette--a dessert to warm up.

Every two weeks, I make a batch of crêpes for my son, who eats them with Nutella. Although crêpes are a French invention, I have never made classic French crêpes Suzette before. But because this is a high season for oranges, making warm crêpes Suzette soaked in a warm orange syrup seemed to me like a great idea.

There are many crêpes recipes. When I had them in the Parisian Monmartre I asked the gentleman who made them for the recipe. I got it spelled out in the quantities he used to prepare his batter every day, that is, dozens of eggs, and many kilograms of flour and pounds of butter.

And although the Parisian crêpes are reputed to be wonderful, they were slightly too sweet for my taste. So I tried a recipe similar to the one I use every two weeks. In addition to typical crêpes ingredients, it also calls for a tiny amount of beer, which makes the crêpes a little more elastic, and easy to fold and roll. The syrup they are soaked in is aromatic from oranges, sweet and buttery and, thanks to a splash of liqueur, it can also warm you up.

All these wonderful ingredients were not enough for my son, so he added whipped cream on top. But since any dessert on a freezing winter day must be indulging, it may have been not such a bad idea after all.



Crêpes Suzette
(Makes 8 crêpes on a 10-inch frying pan)

Ingredients:

Crêpes
1 cup all purpose flour,
2 large eggs,
1 tbsp sugar,
1 tbsp light vegetable oil (e.g., grape seeds or canola oil),
a pinch of salt,
2 tbsp light beer,
1 and 1/2 cup whole milk.

Orange Syrup
6 tbsp unsalted butter,
1/2 cup raw cane sugar,
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice,
2 tbsp orange zest,
4 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueur,
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped.

Preparation:
1. Put flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and gently mix.
2. In another bowl mix eggs, oil, and half of milk. Pour into dry ingredients and beat with a whisker. When the batter is smooth, add the rest of milk and beer and mix until the batter becomes smooth and shiny.
3. Preheat the frying pan and when it is very hot pour about 1/3 cup of the batter. When the edges become dark gold, gently lift and flip the crêpe over.



4. Repeat with the rest of batter and set aside. (If you have no time to make crêpes just before serving them, they can be made a day ahead and kept in a refrigerator; they will be reheated automatically once you put them in the hot syrup.)

5. To make the syrup use a pan large enough for crêpes to fit in. Heat the butter and sugar on a low heat about 5 minutes, until the sugar melts and starts to caramelize.
6. Pour in orange juice and zest and let the syrup to bubble for 3 minutes.
7. Finally add the liqueur. Keeping a heat on low, place each crêpe individually in a pan. When it covers with syrup fold it in half, then in fourth.



8. Drain the crêpe (i.e., let most of the syrup it is soaked in to drip back into the pan) and place on a serving plate. Repeat with each crêpes the same way. If there is any extra syrup left drizzle it at the end on the crêpes.
9. Decorate the crêpes with whipped cream if you like and serve immediately, still warm.

Crepes with Nutella--Five Thousand Crepes of Love.

There are many ways of saying "I love you". For the past seven years I have been saying mine with crepes.

Ever since my older son Max, who has developmental problems, tried crepes at my friend's house, he fell in love with them. At that time he still had some oral motor problems and various food aversions, so I could not be happier that there was a new kind of food that he accepted and enjoyed.

He loves crepes so much that no evening passes by without a crepe and Nutella snack.

Every single day for the past seven years I have been making him crepes for supper. I fry them once a week in a big batch and freeze for the rest of the week. He usually has two or three of them, smothered with Nutella and rolled up, accompanied by a glass of milk. I counted today that for seven years, 365 days each year and a minimum of two crepes a day, I made, at least five thousand crepes.

It is just a tiny gesture of love to reward someone who has the sweetest and most gentle soul, but constantly faces everyday challenges and struggles so hard to reach his potential.

I believe that this culinary experience makes me a true crepe specialist at par with those French magicians who sell crepes on the streets of Paris. But my crepes are a bit different. This recipe is unusual. Its secret is in the beer that makes the crepes very thin and soft. They roll up easily and have a delicate, neither sweet nor savory, taste. Therefore you can stuff them with anything. The sweet versions are the most popular in my home. For Max it has to be the Nutella filling, for Philip Philadelphia Cheese and honey. Seasonal fruits and whipped cream are another delicious option. But also any savory stuffing can work with them, but this is for a separate post.

And tonight, like every night, it is a night of crepes with Nutella.

Beer Crepes
(Makes about sixteen crepes)

Ingredients:
1 bottle light beer,
2 cups milk,
2 and 1/2 cup flour,
2 eggs,
1 tbsp sugar,
1 tsp salt,
2 tbsp vegetable oil for frying.

Preparation:
1. Pour milk and beer into a large bowl. Add two eggs and beat with whisker.
2. Add flour. Beat until it makes smooth batter without any lumps. The batter should have consistency of heavy whipping cream. At the end, season with salt and sugar and let the batter rest for half an hour.
3. Preheat a 9-inch frying pan. Using a cooking brush coat the pan with oil. When the pan is hot pour in about 1/3 cup of the crepe batter.

4. Move the pan until batters spreads and covers the whole pan. Fry until the edges of the crepes are brownish. Flip over with a large silicon spatula and fry again on the other side.

5. Once the first crepe is ready, turn the heat to medium high and fry the rest of them, coating the pan with oil before each crepe.
6. Let the crepes cool.
You can smother them with jam, cheese and honey, or anything you want.

But there is really nothing better than to serve them with Nutella.