What is all the brouhaha in the cartoon kitchen…

Crêpes Suzette the Fidget way

The Rowes, as you know, love crêpes – savoury or sweet, sweet or savoury – so they’re often on the menu. But this time someone must have overstepped the mark…

You might even remember that not long ago they made a delicious mushroom and cheese version (if you’ve only a hazy recollection here’s the link).

The great thing about crêpes is that the base is neutral and partners with lots of other ingredients. Better still, once made they freeze well, so you can save them for another occasion (we made extras and kept some aside).

For about a dozen bases you will need: 165g flour, 25g butter melted, 320ml milk, 2 eggs, pinch of salt. In a mixing bowl start by whisking the eggs, add the milk a little at the time (keep whisking), then the flour and the salt to obtain a batter. Incorporate the melted butter and whisk well to avoid lumps. Cover the bowl with cling film and rest the batter in the fridge for at least 30min.

When you are ready, grease a small frying pan with a little butter (some suggest a ‘wad’ of greaseproof paper to spread the butter before each crêpe) and ladle in a small amount of batter – swirling the pan quickly so that the batter spreads thinly and evenly. When one side is cooked, give the crêpe a confident flip (or use a spatula / palette knife to turn it) and do the other side. Set each finished crêpe aside and keep going until you’ve used all the batter.

To make the Rowes’ filling du jour, for 4 crêpes you will need the juice of 2 oranges (filtered, no pips), 100g sugar, 2 tbsp good orange marmalade, 20g butter and 40ml Cointreau. Put the sugar and orange juice in a pan, heat and let it bubble for a minute or two. Add the marmalade and allow to melt. Stir in the butter and quickly coat each crêpe with the mixture. Fold in four. Pour Cointreau over the folded crêpes (from a glass, not straight from the bottle) and shake the pan so that the alcohol catches fire. When the flames have died down, serve at once.

Kitchen theatre for sure – but Salmon, was it really necessary to get the fire brigade involved?