pancakes

Buckwheat pancakes

13 Comments / buckwheat, pancakes /

I started writing this blog because I love cooking and I think that writing this blog has made me love cooking even more.  I have always experimented and adapted but now I have even more reasons to do this.  Before I started this blog I didn’t follow other blogs, in fact it was a whole new world to me, one in which I am diving ever deeper all the time.  Reading other food blogs has sparked inspiration in many ways.  Choclette and her Chocolate Log Blog sparked an interest in using different types of flour and so I started with spelt, which I and Mr OC both love.  So whilst on a shopping trip to the supermarket which sells such things (well I do live in Shropshire!) I decided to make the longer trip worth our while and bought some buckwheat, kamut and gram flour too. So expect recipes featuring these soon!

Anyway, pancakes are not just for Shrove Tuesday in this house, they are a regular feature of the weekend breakfast, so on Saturday I decided to try buckwheat pancakes.  I also have lots of Total yoghurt sitting in the fridge, so this was another good reason to try out a slight variation on my usual scotch pancakes/ drop scones recipe.  Mr OC and I enjoyed them very much; they have a nutty sweetness to them.  The children who were expecting their usual recipe enjoyed them less, but that can be explained by the habitual nature of my children’s palates.

I served them with grilled bacon and maple syrup, which really set us up for the day.

225g (8oz) buckwheat flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 eggs
275ml (½ pint) whole milk
2 tbsp Total yoghurt

Method

Measure the flour  and baking powder into a bowl and make a well in the centre.  Add the eggs.  Mix the yoghurt and the milk together and pour half into the well with the eggs.  Whisk the mixture to a smooth batter and add the rest of the milk and whisk again until smooth.  The mixture should drop off the whisk with ease but be quite thick.  You want it to sit in small puddles when you put it onto the pan.  If you think it is too thick, then add a little more milk.

Heat a pan until hot.  If your pan is not non-stick or seasoned then you may need a dot of oil wiped over the pan with a piece of kitchen towel. Using a ladle spoon on four pools of batter.  Cook for a minute or so, small bubbles should appear all over the surface. Turn the pancake and cook for another minute.  Serve with the topping of your choice.  Butter and maple syrup are good, as is jam, or lemon curd, or indeed bacon and maple syrup.

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Scotch pancakes or drop scones

7 Comments / pancakes /

bacon and pancakes

I couldn’t decide what to call these – scotch pancakes/ drop scones/ american pancakes/ thick pancakes?  Whatever you call them they are delicious.  They remind me of my childhood when my mum (who calls them drop scones) used to make them for us, and of course, on the very occasional visits to a Little Chef when we were travelling to Wales for our holidays and we used to have the cherry pancakes.  They have got more extravagant now then when we used to just have buttered  drop scones, as my girls like butter, melted chocolate and maple syrup drizzled over theirs and the grown ups in the household like to have them with butter, bacon and maple syrup.  They are the occasional sunday morning breakfast when we have a busy day ahead and plenty of chance to work off the calories!

The girls love them because they can make the batter from start to finish on their own as long as I weigh out the flour and measure the milk. If I want these to be a bit healthier I will add sweetcorn niblets to the batter and go easier on the maple syrup.

Makes about 12 pancakes

225g (8oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
275 ml (½ pint) milk

Method

Put the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre.  Break the eggs into the centre and add a little  bit of the milk.  Using a whisk begin to beat the flour into the egg and milk mixture trying to get rid of the lumps as you go.  Add more milk as you need it, i.e. when the mixture becomes too thick to beat easily.  When all of the milk is added you should have a fairly thick batter that runs easily but quite slowly off the whisk.

Heat a heavy base pan or griddle until really hot and then turn the heat down a little before ladling the mixture by the tablespoonful onto the pan.  You should be able to cook three or four at a time, depending on the size of your pan of course. I use my tortilla pan for this job. Cook on one side until tiny bubbles appear all over the surface of the pancake and then flip over to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute.  Transfer to a warmed plate and keep warm in a low oven until all of the pancakes are cooked.

Serve with your choice of topping, which could include butter, melted chocolate or chocolate spread, maple syrup, bacon, jam, stewed fruit or for the more traditional sugar and lemon juice and sugar.

making pancakes

making pancakes 2

frying pancakes

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