A funny side-effect to food blogging is the way people perceive you and your passion for cooking. It’s never been a secret to my friends that I tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, these days, however, they’re inclined to overrate my daily food encounters. Can I say NO to an extravagant dish from time to time, surely not, but if push comes to shove, I’m happy to stick with easy and basic everyday recipes – which can be just as gratifying and delicious.
When I was a kid, my mum often times asked me in the morning what I wanted to have for lunch after school and chances were high that my first or second choice would have been thin pancakes filled with jam and cinnamon sugar – it was nonnegotiable, from my point of view. More often than not my mum surrendered to my stubbornness wish, and having been an extremely picky eater, options were limited anyway. While she stood at the stove, flipping one after another, I was topping them generously with strawberry jam from my grandma and dusting them off with a little cloud of cinnamon sugar. Yes, it was pretty easy to make me food-happy.
Naturally, pancakes filled with jam have a nostalgic meaning stapled to them, the aroma in my kitchen and the very first bite immediately transports me back to the 70’s style, yellow kitchen I grew up in. Back then my mum and I always competed over who would eat more of them – a clever move from her to make a skinny girl eat a little more. As a kid, the magical number was three, nowadays it can grow beyond five and six…
In a large bowl add the flour, the salt and the eggs, beat until combined (don’t overdo it), then add the milk and blend well. Sticking to these steps in the described order will help to avoid annoying lumps. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 100 °C (210 °F). Brush a plate with clarified butter, cover it loosely with aluminum foil and put it in the oven. Heat a preferably non-stick pan over medium to high heat and add a teaspoon of clarified butter. If a drop of water thrown into the pan starts to sizzle, you are good to go with your first pancake.
Pour a ladle of batter into the middle of the pan and move it swiftly until the batter covers the complete pan bottom and forms a nice round shape. Flip as soon as the bottom side shows signs of golden brown spots, then bake on the other side and remove from the pan. Using a spatula, transfer it to the oven and onto the plate to keep it warm (covered with aluminum foil) until you’re all done.
Add some more clarified butter to the pan and start over again until all of the batter is used up.
Put the stack of pancakes in the middle of the table, so your dining buddies can help themselves. Generously top with jam, apple compote (or Nutella), sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, form to a tight roll and enjoy. And don’t forget to count, how many you have eaten!
Pancakes with jam
Recipe source: my mum
Active time: ~30 minutes
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Ingredients (yields 12-14 pancakes):
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300 g all-purpose flour
5 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
450 ml milk
~ 75 g clarified butter for the pan
serve with jam or apple compote and cinnamon sugar
Apr 5th,
2008
It's like your own pancake Pop Tart! I would try it with a different spead like Marionberry ( the fruit, not the former mayor of D.C.)