Nigella Lawson’s Crêpes Suzette
This is just one of those desserts that seem, on the page as on the plate, to be labor-intensive and tricky, but in fact are as simple to make as they are gratifying to eat. For one thing, you can make the crepes in advance; they could sit, piled between torn-off sheets of baking parchment and well wrapped in the refrigerator, for a good three days without coming to any harm. But I must admit to taking, more than once, an even quicker route: using good store-bought crepes. Once they’re immersed in the sweet orangey syrup, they will not betray their prefabricated origins.
1 cup freshly squeezed
orange juice
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1⁄3 cup superfine sugar
8 to 12 crepes
1⁄3 cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau or triple sec liqueur
In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, zest, butter and sugar. Place over high heat and bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside.
Fold crepes into quarters, and arrange in circular pattern, slightly overlapping, in a nonreactive skillet or other shallow flameproof pan. Pour warm syrup on top (reserve syrup pan), and place over low heat until crepes are warm, about 5 minutes.
Warm liqueur in pan that held orange syrup. When crepes are hot, pour liqueur on top; carefully touch a flame to surface to light it. Serve immediately, spooning crepes and sauce onto each plate.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
