Welcome to Voo's (Psst, prepare to gain weight)

125g plain flour

¼ tsp fine sea salt

2 medium eggs, beaten

1 tbsp melted butter

300ml milk

few knobs of unsalted butter

finely grated zest of 2 oranges

Orange Sauce

8 large oranges

50-75g demerara sugar, depending on desired sweetness

100ml Grand Marnier or Cointreau*

few knobs of unsalted butter

*If you do not have Grand Marnier or Cointreau, you can steep the zest of 1 orange in brandy overnight.

Method

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Combine the beaten eggs, melted butter and milk. Remove 1/4 of the mixture and combine that portion with the grated orange zest. Whisk the ingredients just enough to combine into a smooth batter, but try not to overwork the batter. Strain the batter through a seive to remove any lumps of flour. Add the remaining 1/4 of the liquid mixture (the one with the orange zest, do NOT seive this as it will remove the fragrant zest) and let the batter sit for 30 minutes. Letting the batter rest ensures that all the flour particles have the time to absorb the liquid.

Finely pare the zest of two oranges using a vegetable peeler. Cut into fine julienne strips. Blanch these in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain and pat dry (this will help to remove the bitterness from the zest). Squeeze the juice of six oranges and strain to remove the pips.

Peel and segment the remaining oranges. Working with one at a time, use a small sharp knife to slice off the top and bottom of the fruit. Standing it firmly on the chopping board, cut along the curved sides of the fruit to remove the remaining peel and pith. Holding the orange with one hand over a sieve set on top of a bowl, cut along each side of the membranes to release the segments. Let each segment fall into the sieve as you continue segmenting. Remove any membrane or pips left on the segments. Add the strained juice to the squeezed orange juice. Set aside.

Slowly heat the sugar in a heavy-based pan, stirring a little to help the sugar dissolve. (If you have trouble melting the sugar, you may add a few tablespoons of water so that the sugar forms a thick syrup). Add the julienned orange zest and increase the heat. Simmer until the syrup forms a light caramel. Carefully add the Grand Marnier and stand back as it will spit. Tip the pan slightly to flambé the alcohol, if you wish. After the flames die down, pour in the orange juice and boil until reduced by half. Remove from heat, tip in the orange segments and leave to cool.

Heat a non-stick crêpe pan (I used a regular non-stick pan) with a knob of butter over medium heat. Swirl the butter to evenly coat the pan, then add a small ladleful of batter into the center of the pan and swirl again to evenly coat the base of the pan with a thin layer of batter. Cook for about 1½ minutes until the batter is set and golden brown underneath. Flip over to cook the other side for a minute. Transfer to a warm plate, keep wrapped in a tea towel and repeat with the rest of the batter.

For each individual serving, melt a little butter in a large frying pan and add a cooked crêpe. Reheat for a few seconds and fold into quarters. Repeat with another crêpe. Spoon over a portion of orange sauce, making sure to include some segments and julienned zest. Slide onto a warm plate and serve immediately. Repeat for the remaining servings. Top with vanilla ice-cream and serve.

Notes:

I have increased the oranges from 6 to 8 as I find that it's better to have more orange syrup to drizzle over the ice-cream.

The crêpes were made a few hours before dinner. I simply covered them with a wet paper towel and stored them in the fridge till I was ready for dessert. The crêpes (or mine at very least) did not sick together, even after being in the fridge for a few hours.

If you like having having your eyebrows, eyelashes and hair where they are, DO NOT stick your face (or any part of your body, for that matter) over the pan after you have added the alcohol. If you are cooking this over an open flame, there is a likelyhood of igniting the alcohol without tipping the pan over the flames.

Remember that the higher the heat, the faster the alcohol will evaporate and the higher the pillar of flame will be. Always ensure that you have the alcohol measured out in a smaller container and that you have easy access to a fire extinguisher/water incase of an accident.

If you are not comfortable with flambéing the alcohol, don't do it, just let it boil off. I am NOT responsible for any accident that might occur during the course of creating this dish.

I would greatly appreaciate your comments after you have tried this dish. Please post them here. Thanks.