eat make read

It’s funny, growing up I turned my nose up to pancakes. Waffles? Oh yeah, I’d eat those like nobody’s business, but there was something about pancakes (flatness? stacking? who knows!) that just didn’t work for me. Well now whenever I’m trying to decide on whether to make pancakes or waffles I usually go for pancakes, I think because it seems simpler to me. These pancakes take the genre to a whole new level, so much so that the recipe says they can be used for breakfast or dessert. Is it bad that I had them for dinner?

The ingredient list for this recipe is rather long, but rest easy because most of them are spices. Ground ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper, they’re all in there. If the pancakes are all about spice, the apples are all about the caramelization. I’ve made caramel apples before, but I’d never caramelized apples before. Melt some butter and sugar in a frying pan and add the apples. Soon the apples will release their juices and good things will begin to happen. I think I kept my apples on the stovetop for about 15-20 minutes and they were perfect, although I kind of wished I’d had more because they were so good.

Once the pancakes have been made and the apples are nice and caramely, make yourself a stack and spoon some apples over top. Aaron and I took our first bites at the same time and as we began tasting them our eyes got bigger and smiles soon spread across out faces. These were good. Real good. All the spices in the pancakes work together to create a really well-rounded flavor and the honey adds a nice hint of sweetness to the cakes. The apples are heavenly. They’re perfectly soft, not mushy, and even a little crispy with rich caramel flavor. The liquid from the apples acts as a syrup and soaks into the pancakes infusing them with goodness. Perhaps not the best thing to eat for dinner, but breakfast or dessert would be perfect.

spiced pancakes with caramelized apples
adapted from epicurious
makes 4 servings

pancakes
2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Large pinch of ground white pepper
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg, separated
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted + more for cooking

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caramelized apples
4 Tablespoons butter
4 Tablespoons sugar
2 apples, cut into 1/2 cubes

1
Whisk first 11 ingredients in large bowl to blend.
2
Whisk buttermilk, honey, and egg yolk in medium bowl to blend. Whisk buttermilk mixture into dry ingredients.
3
Stir in melted butter. Beat egg white in another medium bowl until stiff but not dry; fold into batter.
4
Add about half a Tablespoon of butter to a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
5

Pour 1/4 cup batter into pan and let cook about 3 minutes. Flip and cook for another 2 minutes or until golden. Repeat with remaining batter. (Can be made ahead. Let stand at room temperature up to 3 hours or cool completely, wrap in foil, and let stand at room temperature 1 day. Rewarm uncovered on rack on baking sheet in 350°F oven until crisp, about 5 minutes per side.)

apples:
1
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; sprinkle sugar over. Stir until sugar begins to melt, about 1 minute.
2
Add apples. Sauté until apples are brown and tender and juices form, about 15 minutes.
3
Spoon apples over pancakes and eat up!