Pancakes

This is my own recipe, adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's in her book Notes From My Kitchen Table. She says that this is her Dad's recipe that he adapted from the Joy of Cooking. Her recipe simply makes too many and the consistency of the batter wasn't quite to my taste. I want really thick but light and fluffy American-style pancakes. So I experimented a lot before settling on this recipe. If you want to be super fussy, separate the eggs and beat the whites until stiff, then fold them in at the end. This is how to get the most fluffiness. However, I never do this. It is too much effort for me first thing on a Saturday morning. I tend to make the batter in the evening, and leave out the baking powder. Then in the morning, all I have to do is add the baking powder and start flipping pancakes. If I bothered to separate the eggs in the evening, all the air would go out of the batter by the morning, so it's not worth the effort. My nephew once told me that these are the best pancakes he's ever had, and I'm chuffed about it.

Ingredients

  • 35g butter
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 35g sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla paste
  • 375ml buttermilk

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.

  2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the salt and sugar.

  3. Beat together the eggs and vanilla.

  4. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the egg mixture into the well. Then pour the buttermilk into the well. Stir it a little, and then add the melted butter. Beat until completely incorporated.

Note: You are going to think that the batter is too thick. You are going to want to add more buttermilk. DO NOT do this.

  1. Place a plate in the oven and set temperature to 60°C. Place a pan on the stove top over a medium heat. When the pan is hot, pour a few drops of rapeseed oil into the pan, then drop a tiny knob of butter in and spread around the pan. Pour one soup ladle of batter into the pan. When little bubbles are popping and holding their shape, it is time to flip. They don't need much time on the other side.

  2. When brown on both sides, remove from the pan and place on some kitchen paper on the plate in the oven. Repeat until all the batter is used.

I serve these with maple syrup, fresh raspberries and butter. If there are leftovers, they freeze well, and make a great treat in a kid's lunchbox.

References

Paltrow, Gwyneth (2011). Notes From My Kitchen Table. Pan Macmillan.

Tags

  • Recipe
  • Breakfast
  • Treat
  • Easy
  • Brunch