Nothing brings a good start to the day than pancakes: the higher the stack, the better. There are hundreds of recipes for pancakes in print or online, and there's a recipe for everyone, whether you like them uniformly or sloppily stacked, with fruit, nuts, chocolate or dripping with syrup. I like mine fluffy and eggy, almost like a cross between a souffle and an omelette. This recipe harks back to happy memories with my high school friends in Cebu, and of a trip to Napa Valley with a few other friends (where one of our friends mistakenly thought the butter coin on top of the pancake stack was a slice of banana :-o ). Pancakes make people happy, and what better way to show your love to family and friends than making them?
This recipe is from Alison Roman for The New York Times Cooking section. I've added in my own version, with clotted cream (or thickened cream) on top and raspberries. Don't they put a smile to your face? :)
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Yields: 8-9 large pancakes
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar (I use coco sugar, which lends a dark caramel sheen on the pancake)
1.5 teaspoons baking powder*
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
2.5 cups buttermilk**
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Canola or vegetable oil for the pan
* If you don't have baking powder in your pantry, try this hack: mix 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1/2 cup plain yogurt
** Buttermilk may not be readily available in supermarkets. In this case, you can make your own by mixing 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes. Ta-dah! Instant buttermilk.
1. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Form a deep cavity at the center. Pour buttermilk at the center and crack eggs into the buttermilk. Pour melted butter into mixture. Starting in the center, whisk everything together, moving towards the outside of the bowl, until all the ingredients are mixed together. Do not overbeat. And it's ok to have lumps. There's perfection in the imperfections. ;) Leave batter for 30 minutes at room temperature.
2. Heat nonstick or cast iron pan over low heat for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet. Turn to coat all sides. Turn heat up to medium-low. Using a measuring cup or a glass beaker, ladle 1/3 cup batter into skillet.
3. Flip pancakes after bubbles rise to surface, and bottoms brown, about 2-3 minutes. Cook until the sides are brown. Remove pancake to cool on a wire rack or wax paper on plate, so later on, the pancakes don't stick to each other.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until there's no more batter. Stack up and serve with cream and raspberries... or blueberries, or Nutella or chocolate syrup... it's up to you. However, I recommend to use cream and fruit as topping because this version of pancakes has the robust taste of salty and eggy, which can be balanced by the delicate flavour of cream and berries.
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