FALLEN PANCAKES
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
2 tablespoons caster sugar
¼ teaspoon baking powder sifted
1 ½ cups buttermilk or you can use normal milk
4 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla bean or extract
1tbsp of rum (optional)
Extra butter for cooking
METHOD
Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
Place the butter into a small pot and heat until it starts foaming and changes colour to a golden/brown colour (be careful not to burn it!) Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Place egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until it becomes foamy, then add the sugar and beat until soft peaks form.
In a separate bowl add the egg yolks and vanilla, and whisk until well combined. Slowly add the milk to your egg yolks and whisk together. Now add the rum (if using) and cooled brown butter.
Sift in the flour and baking powder a few tablespoons at a time. Once you have mixed in all the flour using a large metal spoon fold in your egg whites in 3 batches.
Heat a large cast-iron pan over low heat and pop in some extra butter. Once the butter is melted, swirl your pan to coat the sides in the butter and pour in your mixture. Place a lid on the pan and allow to cook on the stovetop for about 8-10 minutes or until it’s nice and golden on the bottom. (If you don’t have a lid, use some baking paper or foil to cover your fry pan)
Now you can either try to flip it in one go over to the other side, but it’s kind of like a big uncooked cake so if this seems daunting just cut your pancake into thirds (like a peace sign!) or even quarters and flip over. Now place it in the oven for a further 10 minutes.
Take your pan out, and using your flipper break your pancake up into bite-size pieces, and if you want to make those edges nice and golden add a little knob of butter and cook on the stovetop for a further 3-5 minutes.
Place them on a serving platter and either dust with icing sugar and serve with my Spicy Cherry Compote, a chunky jam, or good old maple syrup.
Depending on how big your pan is, you can do one big pancake or you can do two or three batches. I like to do it in one big batch to save time and feed the troop in one hit!
