French: Crêpes Suzette Flambé

Recipe by Paul Young <info@cooking-with-paul.com>

(makes about 8 crepes, serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 large egg, whipped
• 1¼ cups milk, or more as needed
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Spray coconut oil
• zest of 1 orange (finely grated)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• ⅓ cup Cointreau (orange liqueur)
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Procedure:

1. Make the batter: in a mixing bowl, whisk together egg, 2 tablespoons melted butter, milk, salt; slowly add flour and mix until smooth
2. Test the batter: Heat 8-inch nonstick skillet, spray pan with coconut oil; when pan is hot, pour in a small amount of batter, then tilt immediately to make a thinner crepe; if the crepe is too thick, add more milk to batter; if the crepe is too thin, add more flour; discard test crepe
3. Make the crepes: repeat above, but this time pour in about ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of the batter, tilt immediately and swirl to allow batter to coat the entire bottom of the pan; let the crepe cook over medium-high heat until the edges start to curl up (about 1 minute); flip the crepe with a spatula and cook for 10 seconds longer or until a few brown spots appear on the bottom; repeat until batter is gone (you should end up with about 8-12 crepes)
4. Transfer each finished crepe to a large plate, layer each crepe with parchment or waxed paper; allow to cool before serving (or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed)
5. Make the sauce: in a small saucepan, add orange juice, orange zest, sugar; cook over high heat until boiling, then add 10 tablespoons of butter, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until syrupy (about 10-15 minutes); remove from heat and set aside
6. Fold each crepe into quarters, arrange folded crepes in circular pattern in a large nonstick skillet (overlapping is okay, this can be done in batches); pour warm syrup on top, then heat over low heat until crepes are warm (about 2 minutes)
7. Turn heat to high; pour liqueur on top and carefully touch a flame to surface to light it; tilt pan to allow flamed liqueur to spread and evaporate
8. Serve immediately by spooning crepes and sauce onto serving plates
9. Optional: add a scoop of vanilla ice cream to each serving