Buttermilk
pancakes are prefered my many people in the States. In American
pancakes are the national breakfast dish and there are lots of ways
of making them. I really put up this recipe because I am so sick
and tired of crappy European TV chefs coming up with ridiculous
and down right stupid recipes. It's no wonder you can't find decent
pancakes for breakfast here.
About
the batter: The batter should be on the thick side (not
runny) in order for the pancakes to puff up and be light and you
should try and rest it for as long as possible but not longer than
6 hours. The measurements for the milk; flour absorbs liquids differently
depending on the humidity in the air and how it is stored. Remember
these are not crepes or Swedish style pancakes the batter is much
thicker. By the time you have tried this recipe 2 or three times
you will see exactly how the batter should look. If the batter is
too thick it can be thinned with a little more buttermilk or plain
milk or thickened with a little more flour.
Tip: You should not pour the batter into the pan, try and hold it as
close to the pan as possible and let it slide off the spoon into
the hot pan. I have got a large spoon which gives me exactly the
right amount of batter to pour in the pan to make the pancake the
right size. Look around your kitchen and see if you can find one
that gives you the right amount
Frying
the pancakes: Pancakes are best cooked in a heavy cast
iron skillet (frying pan). To save time use a large frying pan where
you can get 2 or 3 pancakes in at a time. Heat the pan hot - not
smoking - but very hot. You can test the pan by making a little
mini pancake to see how it cooks and colors. If you have a well
seasoned pan you shouldn't need any extra butter to fry the pancakes
in. If not you can wipe the inside of a pan with a paper towel with
some softened butter on it. If you do after each pancake or batch
of pancakes wipe the pan out with some paper towel, the butter will
burn and you want to remove it after the each pancake or batch are
cooked. Continue this process until all the pancakes are cooked.
Storing
cooked pancakes: Pancakes are best just out of the pan
but this is a bit difficult when you are making for the family.
Heat your oven to 50°C or (100°F) and lay cooked pancakes
on a kitchen towel placed on a baking tray or cookie sheet, not
overlapping to stay warm. Because they are hot and will produce
steam and wrapping them or stacking them will make them soft and
spongy. I have frozen unused pancakes but I have to say that they
were in honesty pretty terrible.
Fruit
pancakes: You can do this with buttermilk pancakes the
same as with regular pancakes. I have seen a lot of things put into
pancakes but I prefer the more traditional additions. To this recipe
you can add a big handful of blueberries, banana slices and even
sliced fresh strawberries. Why not wild strawberries whole. We don't
really have them in the Northeast where I come from but I think
they would make a great addition.
To
cook fruit pancakes: Spoon the batter in the pan and then
place the sliced fruit on the batter and very gently push it down
into the pancake. I will not become completely submerged in the
batter no matter how much you try so don't bother. You want to get
it down so the top of the sliced fruit is a millimeter below the
height of the batter. With blueberries sprinkle them over the top
and gently push them into the batter then cook as normal. You do
need to be a bit careful when you flip them over as fruits contain
sugar and sugar burns, so keep and eye on them.
Maple syrup is Maple syrup and nothing is quite the same. It
is readily available here in Sweden for a price! I remember being
young and my aunt cooking liters and liters of maple sap they collected
in the woods of Pennsylvania where they lived. It takes approximately
40 liters of sap to make one lit re of Maple syrup, and a mature
sugar maple tree produces about 40 liters (10 gallons) of sap during
the 4-6 week sugaring season. 75% of the worlds Maple syrup comes
from Canada with some of the balance coming from the northeastern
states of America (Vermont & Maine).
It here that the purists die! There are only 2 decent Maple syrup
substitutes which are worth bothering with "Log Cabin"
and "MississippI Bell" neither of these have more than
2% Maple syrup (if any at all) in them but they come the closest
to tasting like Maple syrup. They are technically called "maple
flavored syrups". I have found both of them at Grey's American
Food in Stockholm but I have also seen them at the really big ICA
Maxi stores.
Pancakes
in general: "Pancakes", "Flapjacks",
and "Griddle Cakes" are all the same thing in America.
Johnny Cakes are made with stone ground corn meal, and Buckweat
Cakes are of course made with a combination of plain flour and buckweat
flour (bovete).The size of pancakes is really up to you but they
average from 5cm to 8cm at most. "Silver Dollar" pancakes
are the same except they are the size of a silver dollar about 3
cm across. Kids love these and they were a treat when my mom used
to make them for us. In Sweden we have Plätter which are eaten
with much relish for dessert but they are made from a different
recipe and are a bit lighter than American pancakes.
Making
small pancakes 2 to 3 cm across can also be a good vehicle for snacks
and canapes, cover them with a little Philadelphia cream cheese
and some jam, salmon or anything you would like.
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