buttermilk pancakes - sunday special

buttermilk pancakes - sunday special

2 May 2016

During the Easter break a friend invited me over for brunch and served up a massive pile of ricotta hotcakes topped with Greek yoghurt, bananas and raspberries. 

Inspired by my friends pancakes I tried this recipe for buttermilk pancakes from Cooks Illustrated.



While making the pancakes I was busy baking a cake while also styling and photographing some cookies so my mind was not really on the job. I forgot to add the melted butter to the batter which I later found in the microwave but added an extra egg. Some how they still managed to turn out okay and I scoffed 4 of them for my breakfast.



Now that Passover is finally over I've returned to the kitchen with a vengeance. Yesterday I baked a cake; made a loaf of bread and made another batch of buttermilk pancakes but on this occasion I followed the recipe. If you look closely at the images below you can see the difference between the 2 batches. The pancakes on the right were made using the correct recipe whilst the pancakes on the left were my distracted batch. Yesterday's pancakes rose at least twice as high.




Here's the recipe I used, slightly adapted for an Australian tablespoon.  For all my recipes, I use a 250 ml cup and a 20 ml tablespoon. All eggs are 60 grams and my oven is a conventional gas oven not fan forced, so you may need to reduce your oven temperature by 20°C.

Cooks Illustrated Best Buttermilk Pancakes - makes about 16 pancakes

Ingredients
2 cups plain flour
1½ tbs sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
¼ cup sour cream (I used Greek yoghurt)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1-2 tbs oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 90°C/200°F. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray and set it inside a rimmed baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a second bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream or yoghurt, eggs and melted butter. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined. The batter should be lumpy with a few streaks of flour. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.

Heat a tsp of oil in a 12-inch non-stick pan over medium heat until shimmering. Using paper towels carefully wipe out oil leaving a thin film of oil on the bottom and sides of pan. Using a ¼ cup measure, portion the batter into the pan in 4 places. Cook until the edges are set; first side is golden brown and bubbles on the surface are just beginning to break, 2-3 minutes. Using a thin wide spatula flip the pancakes and continue to cook until second side is golden brown and cooked 1-2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter, using remaining oil as necessary. Serve pancakes immediately or transfer to wire rack in preheated oven.




Here they are topped with Greek yoghurt, banana and raspberries and doused with maple syrup. For dessert I topped the pancakes with some oven roasted fruit and yoghurt and drizzled with maple syrup, they were equally delicious.



Maybe you could surprise your Mum with a pancake breakfast for Mother's Day.

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends. See you all again next Monday.

Until then,

Jillian

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apple blintzes and mother's day

apple blintzes and mother's day

8 May 2013

When my Grandmother was still alive she used to host a Mother's Day Morning Tea. It always seemed a little unfair that the most senior member of the family did all the cooking but that was the way Grandma liked it. Grandma always served cheese blintzes made with her home made white cheese. Grandma's cheese blintzes were not sweet and I've not found a recipe that's similar to her blintzes anywhere.




So instead of cheese blintzes, apple blintzes are my specialty. I've been making these for so long now, I can't remember when I first started making them but they're an excellent make ahead dessert and really easy as well.



The recipe originally came from the Australian Woman's Weekly and the filling was made using a tin of pie apple. As apples are so lovely at the moment I stewed a few large granny smith apples for the filling.



The blintzes can be made well ahead of time and pan fried just before serving. Otherwise you can fry them and reheat them later in the oven covered with foil to prevent them drying out or zap them in the microwave covered in plastic wrap.



Here's the printable recipe for you.
Apple Blintzes
Pancakes
½ cup Plain Flour
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
Oil and butter for frying

Apple Cinnamon filling
400 g cooked apples or one 410 gm tin pie apples, mashed with a fork
2 tablespoons caster sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup sultanas (golden raisins)
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind

To serve
Additional sugar and cinnamon
Vanilla ice cream

To make the filling, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and set to one side.

To make the pancakes, sift the flour into a small bowl then add the egg stirring to ensure there are no lumps. Gradually add the milk to form a smooth batter. Transfer the mixture to a small jug and rest for 30 minutes.

Heat a small pan and grease it well. Pour 2 – 3 tablespoons of batter into the heated pan. Cook over a medium heat until the underside of the pancake is light golden brown, then turn out onto a wire rack. Leave the top side of the pancake uncooked. Continue with the remaining batter to make 8 pancakes. Don’t wash out the jug as in a moment you’ll need the leftovers.

With the cooked side uppermost, spread 2 tablespoons of the filling into the centre of the pancake spreading it out a little with a small spatula.

Brush the edges of the pancake with a little of the uncooked batter; this helps the edges hold together when cooked. Fold in the 2 sides of the pancake, overlapping slightly. Brush the remaining ends with a little of the batter and fold the ends into the centre overlapping a little to make a small parcel.

Heat a little oil and a teaspoon of butter in a small pan. Place the blintzes seam side down and gently fry for a few minutes until golden then flip and cook for a further 2 minutes until both sides are browned. Drain on absorbent paper if necessary.

To serve, sprinkle with sugar and a little cinnamon topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serves 4



They're especially yummy served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.



Happy Mother's Day to all those mothers out there, especially to my own Mama.

See you all again next week,

Jillian

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Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day

13 May 2012

Growing up, Mother's Day meant a trip to my Grandmother's place for Grandma Sonie's annual Mother's Day morning tea. It always seemed unfair that the eldest female member of the family was the one doing all the work, but that was the way Grandma liked it.



The highlight of the morning tea was always my Grandma's Apple pie, which she baked dark brown before generously sprinkling the top with icing sugar. I baked an apple pie in honour of Mother's Day and I'll be back tomorrow to share my recipe with you.

Happy Mother's Day to all those Mums out there.

Jillian

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