Delicate crêpes folded into quarters and bathed tableside in a caramelised orange butter sauce, then dramatically flambéed with Grand Marnier. The flame burns off the raw alcohol and leaves behind a glossy, bittersweet citrus glaze. A showpiece of grand French restaurant service.
Attributed to the late 19th-century Paris and London restaurant scene, often linked to chef Auguste Escoffier and his protégé Henri Charpentier around 1895.
The crêpes are almost lacy, soaked through with a sauce that tastes of bitter orange marmalade and warm butter. The flambé leaves a faint toasted-liqueur warmth on the tongue without any harsh booze. Light yet deeply indulgent, it is citrus and caramel in perfect tension.
Resting the batter lets the flour fully hydrate so the crêpes turn out thin and pliable instead of rubbery. Flambéing rapidly burns off ethanol while the brief intense heat concentrates the sauce and rounds out the liqueur's sharp edges.
Variations
Some versions skip the flambé entirely; others use Cointreau or curaçao instead of Grand Marnier, or add lemon alongside the orange for extra brightness.
On the Palate
Where Crêpes Suzette sits in the French flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 40 min
- 135 min
Whisk flour, eggs, milk, melted butter, sugar and a pinch of salt into a smooth batter and rest 30 minutes.
Watch outRest the batter a full 30 minutes so the flour hydrates — skip it and the crêpes turn out rubbery and tear.
- 218 min
Cook thin crêpes in a hot buttered pan, one ladle at a time, until lightly golden.
- 35 min
For the sauce, melt sugar in a wide pan until it turns to amber caramel.
Watch outMelt the sugar just to an amber caramel and stop — push it darker and it turns acrid and ruins the sauce.
- 43 min
Add butter and fresh orange juice and stir until a smooth syrup forms.
- 55 min
Slide each crêpe through the sauce, fold into quarters and arrange in the pan.
- 61 min
Off the heat, pour over Grand Marnier and orange liqueur.
- 72 min
Carefully ignite the alcohol and baste the crêpes with the flaming sauce.
Watch outLight the alcohol off the heat and let it burn until the flames die on their own — that's the raw booze cooking off; kill it early and the sauce tastes sharp.
- 82 min
Once the flames die, plate the crêpes and spoon over the remaining sauce.
