I’ve tried various pancake recipes for Sunday breakfast over the last year or two. Sure, I was able to do basic, simple pancakes (anyone can), but my wife showed me up by making the type where you separate the eats, beat the egg white and fold it into the batter to give it an extra lightness. (She also likes to use buttermilk.) These quickly became the kid’s favourites (and mine.)
But today I tried a similar recipe, with just a bit of variation on the quantities and technique involved, and it worked extremely well, even without buttermilk. What was the secret to its great success today? Was it that the butter that goes in the batter was unsalted, and not only melted, but “cooked” for two to three minutes too? Was it the pinch of tartar to the egg whites before they were beaten? Of course, the large pinch of cinnamon might have helped too.
But the key thing is that the texture and sweetness of this batch were just right.
I’ll record it here, just in case we ever lose the magazine it came from:
1. melt 60 g unsalted butter in small saucepan and “cook”until golden (2 –3 minutes). Let cool a bit.
2. whisk 450 ml milk, 50 g castor sugar, 3 egg yolks, large pinch of cinnamon and salt. Whisk in the melted butter.
3. sift in 380 g self raising flour. Fold in until just combined.
4. whisk the 3 egg whites with pinch of cream of tartar until it peaks. Fold gently into the batter.
5. Cook.
This makes quite a large batch; about 10 – 12 large pancakes.
Thank you Gourmet Traveller; although I’m going to bother with candied walnuts on a Sunday morning.
The tip about separating egg yolks and whites and beating the whites is a good one and I've wondered about doing that with omelettes too. But I never bother with self-raising flour - I usually prefer them without baking powder.
ReplyDeleteThere's a decent recipe for vegan pancakes on the net somewhere - basically flour, soy milk and vegetable oil. Worth a try as they usually come out nice and crispy.
Crispy pancakes!? I want soft and fluffy, with cream and jam. (Insert Homer drooling sound.)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, if you aren't using any "raising" ingredient, I think you are making crepes, not pancakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd some recipes that involve beating the eat whites call them hotcakes, not pancakes.