Crêpes suzette

All the talk yesterday about pancakes has put me in mind of one of them most popular desserts that you used to have to do in the restaurant.  Back in the day when I was a young waiter I worked in a hotel restaurant and we had a Gueridon trolley. As soon as I saw the flames of the waiter cooking at the table I wanted to have a go. Some thing to do with the flames and the theatre of it all. And this classic French dessert always impressed.

You will need

125g/4½oz plain flour

2 eggs

300ml/10½fl oz milk

Butter

50g/1¾oz unsalted butter

The zest of one orange

The juice from 3 oranges

The juice and zest of 1 lemon

3 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp orange liqueur

2 tbsp brandy

Now you make your pancakes or crêpes in advance and finish the sauce just before serving.  Just sift the flour into a bowl.  Add the egg and milk and whisk to a smooth batter.

Heat a frying pan but not to hot melt a little butter in the pan and make you pancakes, once cooked place them on a plate with a piece of greaseproof paper between each one so they do not stick.

When you are ready to reheat the pancakes take a frying pan and get it on a medium high heat you want to melt the butter but not burn it. Add the butter to the pan and let that melt then add the sugar and let that dissolve in to the butter a little then add the juice and zest of the oranges and the lemon.

Let this sauce cook so it starts to thicken then take it off the heat.  Fold the pancake in half then in half again and add then to the sauce then return to the heat.

Then add the orange liqueur and brandy and flame them, in the flame of the gas ring or use a lighter if you have one. Let the alcohol burn for a moment, and let the pancake heat through.

All I will say is remember that the brandy will burn very fast and hard to start with so do not have your face or any thing that will burn close to the flame, or it will be very memorable for all the wrong reasons .