The success of this dish is dependent on advanced preparation. Have everything ready, gather all the equipment and double-check the setup. Then you can proceed with the theatrics of tableside service, flaming the pancakes and wowing your guests.
One evening, during the early days of the restaurant at Ballymaloe, Myrtle Allen succeeded in more than wowing her guests with this dish, and we still retell the story of ‘The Pancake Blaze’! Here is Myrtle’s account of how things played out in the dining room that night (taken from The Ballymaloe Cookbook, 1977):
Crêpe Suzette, the queen of the pancake family, is a party piece. It cannot be served to too many people at once, so it goes onto our menu around Shrove Tuesday time, when oranges are at their best and restaurant numbers are down. I usually have to dress up and cook the crêpes myself for the customers at the table.
One evening I spruced myself up, put on a suitable little black dress, washed and set my hair so that it was all soft and fluffy and arrived in the dining room ready for the performance. I proceeded to a table of about six people, all wanting crêpes. I followed the usual procedure of heating the pancakes on both sides in hot orange butter, folding them into fan shapes and arranging them around the edge of the pan, and finally pouring in orange curaçao and brandy to flame them. Well, six people take quite a lot of pancakes, so I put in a good dash of the two liquors. They ignited with quite a bang – gave me a little shock, in fact, but naturally, I proceeded with the cooking operation. After a minute, a waitress near me started to scream and a look of unusual consternation came over my customers. Then suddenly, a man jumped up from the table and enveloped my head in his serviette.
I didn’t know that I was calmly cooking with a halo of flames engulfing my lovely fluffy hair.
‘Sit down,’ they said. ‘You must be suffering from shock.’ I was the only person in the dining room who was not suffering from shock: I hadn’t noticed anything!
This recipe is from 'Ballymaloe Desserts' cookbook by JR Ryall, Head Pastry Chef at Ballymaloe House Hotel
Makes 12
For the pancakes:
175 g/6 oz (1½ cup) plain flour
pinch of salt
2 teaspoons caster (superfine) sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons orange curaçao
450 ml/15 fl oz (1⅔ cups plus 2 tablespoons) whole milk
30 g/1 oz (2 tablespoons) melted butter
For the orange butter
175 g/6 oz (¾ cup) salted butter
3 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
175 g/6 oz (1½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
To serve:
Brandy, Orange Curaçao or Grand Marnier
To make the pancakes:
First, make the batter: sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the center and add the lightly beaten eggs and orange curaçao. With a whisk, starting in the centre, mix the egg and gradually bring in the flour. Slowly add the milk and beat until the batter is the consistency of thin cream. Let the batter stand in a cold place for 30 minutes or so – longer will not harm.
Just before you cook the crêpes, stir in the melted butter. Heat a 20 cm/8 inch non-stick frying pan on medium heat until hot. To cook the crêpes, put a small ladleful of batter into the hot frying pan. Flip the pancake once bubbles appear on the surface and cook on the other side. Continue until you have twelve pancakes. The crêpes may be stacked on top of each other and peeled apart later when ready to serve.
To make the orange butter: Cream the butter with the finely grated orange zest in a bowl, then add the caster sugar and vigorously beat until smooth.
To serve:
Assemble the following: frying pan, preferably copper for style; matches; fork and spoon; fondue stove, or gas burner; orange butter; crêpes; brandy; orange curaçao; warm serving plates.
Light the fondue stove or burner and put the pan on the flame. Melt about 1 tablespoon of the orange butter in the pan. When it foams, put a pancake in the pan and heat through on both sides. Fold in quarters to achieve a fan shape. Rest against the side of the pan. Continue with another pancake, warming it in more of the orange butter. Prepare up to four pancakes this way to fit neatly within the pan. Pour over brandy and curaçao (or Grand Marnier). Set alight, keeping your face away from the flames. Tilt the pan and spoon the juices over the pancakes until the flame subsides. Serve immediately on hot plates. In a clean pan, repeat this process with the remaining pancakes.
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