Pancakes

ARE YOU READY FOR THE WEEKEND? I am. Here's a weekend dish you can make for breakfast on a Saturday / Sunday morning: Pancakes.

So, my family has always been obsessed with pancakes, particularly my Dad. That's probably the most Canadian thing about us - pancakes and 100% Canadian maple syrup. Pancakes were always a part of our family breakfasts. They also appeared during special occasions like birthdays, or sleepover mornings with friends. My Dad would spell out mine and my friends' names in letters - called Alphabet Pancakes. But, I digress...

As an adult, I tried many pancake recipes in the past- from the box, from scratch, and I have finally found one which works great for me. I like pancakes with some body, and not flat. I like them with a crispy edge like these ones from Chez Ma Tante in Brooklyn, New York. Those are cooked in clarified butter (ghee) and in a cast iron pan. I don't own one yet, but it's on my list. Also, I do not like excessively fluffy pancakes which seems to be the Japanese obsession, and are more CAKE than pancake. I love indulging but if I want cake for breakfast, I'll need some buttercream frosting too.

I've noticed that there are many blogs / articles that get into what makes a good pancake. The pro tips from this particular source I do agree with are:

Do not over mix your batter

Let batter rest for at least 5-10 minutes before you start cooking your pancakes

Flip the pancake over once you see bubbles come up on the middle of the pancake

Serve them fresh, immediately as you make them

This recipe I'll share with you all makes about 10-12 pancakes, and you can add in whatever you like to the batter (blueberries, chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, etc.) I did mine with blueberries this time for my Dad's birthday breakfast. And, I had to double the recipe because we all wanted at least 2-3 pancakes each! They go well with bacon / sausage so you can balance sweet and savory.

Here goes...you will need:

Ingredients

2 medium ripe bananas

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk (squeeze the juice of two Indian lemons into regular milk and let sit for 10 minutes for homemade buttermilk)

1 cup all purpose flour

1 TBSP brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 TBSP melted butter

Method

Use two bowls (one larger for wet ingredients, one smaller for dry).

1. In the wet bowl, mash bananas, then crack in egg and vanilla, and mix. Once your buttermilk is ready, pour that in and mix.

2. In the dry bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

3. Add dry mixture into wet mixture and combine, folding gently. Do not over mix. There will be some lumps but there should be no dry flour left. Add chocolate chips/ blueberries / sprinkles or whatever you please into the batter at this stage.

4. Add in the melted butter, mix, and cover and go away. Your batter should look like this, with some bubbles emerging.

5. Heat your frying pan / skillet to medium-low heat. Add about a teaspoon of oil per pancake so they are crispy on the edges.

6. Drop in a large spoon of batter (a serving spoon which should carry around 1/4 cup of batter).

7. The pancake will start bubbling up, like in the picture below. This takes about 1-2 minutes depending on how thick / thin your pan is, and how much heat you have. When this happens, they are ready to flip over to the other side, just for a minute or two until cooked.

8. Flip the pancake, and cook for 30 seconds more, and serve onto the plate.

9. Top with maple syrup and enjoy!

I used fresh blueberries, but any fruit is nice, and chocolate chips are good too. Some people might even add some peanut butter into the batter. It's really your choice!

#pancakes #banana #blueberry #flapjacks #breakfast