French Crêpes with Boozy Peach Syrup

Happy Pancake Day!

I was having a chat with my Mum and Dad the other day about our holidays to France when I was a kid (bear with me, things are about to get a little overbearingly Proustian…). I spent most of my childhood summers in the nineties on a Eurocamp Campsite in the woods and (nudie) beach near La Palmyre, where I probably ate the best food of my whole life. We had croissants, bread and jam for breakfast outside the caravan every morning, scoffed “chichi” and “mascot” (*shrugs* I dunno, they were a bit like churros and doughnut sandwiches) bought from the (clothed) vendors strolling up and down the beach, ate “poulet avec frites” (rotisserie chicken and chips) for dinner that my Dad used to pick up from the camp takeaway joint every night, and then – big treat! – we all walked down to the on site bar and crêperie for sugary crêpes and Orangina for a very late afters (how I didn’t have a mouth full of metal fillings by the time I was 15, I have no idea). Oh, and then there were a couple of really special trips into Royan to pick up a paper bag full of fresh macaroons (not macarons!) from the local outdoor market. None of it was anything particularly special or unique – it was all just simple, fresh food done really, really well. And there’s probably not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it… and drool about it.

Anyway, I was complaining about peaches other day – and how it’s really difficult to get a good one here in the UK. In France I remember picking up ones from the market that were practically the size of my head when I was a kid, and that were so juicy that most of it would be running down your arm and spilling in your lap as you ate it. It just seems impossible to find that kind of quality produce here in the UK, and it made me a little sad and nostalgic for those holidays – and the food – from my childhood. And so I made pancakes… which should probably be the solution to all of life’s problems.

These Crêpes are wafer thin with a perfectly crispy, frilly edge and would be absolutely delicious topped with just about anything, but as I said, I was feeling a bit nostalgic and so I whipped up a boozy peach syrup to go with mine. They’re a little bit like Crêpes Suzette, but not quite. 🙂

French Crepes with Boozy Peach Syrup

Ingredients

For the Crêpes:

• 150g plain flour
• 200ml milk
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 30g melted butter

For the Boozy Peach Syrup:

• 3 peaches
• 150ml cold water
• 100g butter
• 50g caster sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 50ml alcohol of your choice (I used schnapps).
• Top with a handful of flaked almonds

 

Method

1. First, chop the peaches and then finely blitz in a food processor with the cold water. Sieve the peach juice through a muslin cloth to remove any lumps and bumps.
2. Grab a saucepan and then bring the peach juice to the boil with the butter, sugar and lemon zest. Turn down the heat and gently simmer for about 20 minutes until the everything is reduced to a syrup.
3. Whip up the Crêpes: whisk together the flour, milk, eggs and melted butter until you get a smooth batter without lumps. Fry each Crêpe in a little melted butter on a high heat for about a minute on both sides, and then serve up drizzled in peach syrup.

Dydd Crempog Hapus! Happy Pancake Day! 💛💛💛