It's a little over a week away and so we're thinking about Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday).
Pancakes, as Americans know them, take on a different significance on Shrove Tuesday, the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday, since on this day we join in purpose with others across the globe to make pancakes, as a way to use up the eggs and fats in our homes before embarking on the 40-day Lenten period of abstinence that culminates in the grand celebration of Easter Sunday.
Celebrate with us! For added inspiration, we have added a couple of new recipes here.
Buttermilk Pancakes with Banoffee Bananas and Cream
for the pancakes (4-6 servings)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 to 1¼ cups buttermilk (depending on how thick or thin you like your pancakes)
- 2 tbl melted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups (8½ oz/240 g) Organic Einkorn Pancake & Baking Mix (spooned lightly into a measuring cup)
for the Banoffee Bananas and Sauce
- ¼ cup (50 g) packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- 4 bananas, peeled and sliced on an angle
- scant ¼ cup (50 g) butter
whipped cream, to serve
Method
- In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla together until the mixture is light. Stir in the mix until just moistened, about 20 seconds. Don't try to get out all the lumps or the pancakes will be tough and rubbery. Any lumps won't be perceptible in the pancakes themselves. Add more buttermilk if the batter seems a little thick.
- To cook pancakes, preheat your griddle and grease it lightly. Use a 1/4-cup measure, or an equivalent scoop, and pour batter onto the griddle, leaving room for expansion. Turn the pancakes when a few of the bubbles that appear on the surface don't fill in. The second side will cook in about half the time the first side takes.
- Cook for 2 minutes, until golden underneath, then flip over and cook for a further 2 minutes, until cooked through. Remove, keep warm in a low oven and repeat with the remaining batter - makes about 12-16 pancakes in total.
- Banoffee Bananas: Heat the sugar and maple syrup or honey in a pan, until it forms a caramel or sticky thick sauce. Add the banana slices to the pan, shaking to coat well. Add the butter to the pan and heat for another 1-2 minutes.
- To assemble: Take one pancake and top with some of the banoffee banana and syrup mixture - place another pancake on top and add another spoon of the banana mixture; Add the whipped cream and drizzle any remaining banoffee syrup over and around the pancake stack. Serve immediately while still warm.
recipe adapted from <https://www.lavenderandlovage.com
German Torn Pancakes aka Kaiserschmarrn Recipe
According to Wikipedia, Kaiserschmarren is actually an Austrian dessert, but it has become a traditional German pancake dish. Many serve it as a dessert, while many also enjoy it for Sunday brunch.
In the original recipe there are only raisins (which, before cooking, are soaked in rum).
The pancake is split with two forks into pieces while frying and usually sprinkled with powdered sugar, then served hot with apple or plum sauce or various fruit compotes, including plum, lingonberry, strawberry, or apple.
for the pancakes (makes 4 servings)
- ¾ cup (95 g) Organic Einkorn Pancake & Baking Mix
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- 4 large eggs, separated
- 4 ounces (113 g) raisins (soaked in rum, then drained, if desired)
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) butter, divided
- powdered sugar to sprinkle over pancakes
Method
- In medium bowl combine mix, sugar, milk, egg yolks, beat for 30 seconds into a light batter. Let batter stand for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, beat egg whites to stiff peaks, and gently fold into batter.
- Gently fold in raisins.
- In a large frying pan, melt 2 tablespoon of the butter over medium heat. Pour in the pancake batter into the hot pan and fry until golden brown on the bottom.
- Flip pancake, adding 2 tablespoons of butter, and continue to cook on other side until browned.
- Using two forks, tear pancake into bite-size pieces and continue cooking briefly.
- Serve, dusted with powdered sugar. Tastes great served with fruit or fruit sauce.
Notes/Hints:
You can omit the raisins. Or, you can soak those raisins in rum first, then add the drained raisins to the batter.
The traditional side for this is a plum compote. Alternatively, baked plums or plum jam would be delicious, also apple sauce or a side of another fruit compote in season.
recipe adapted from <https://www.quick-german-recipes.com
Russian syrniki pancakes recipe
Syrniki are traditional pancakes from Russia and usually served for breakfast with jam or sour cream. They are made with a cheese called tvorog, the closest in the US would be farmer's cheese or quark.
They are typically served for breakfast or as a snack or light lunch. They are super soft and just slightly sweet on the inside.
for the pancakes
- 1 lb farmer's cheese - see notes before getting started
- 2 eggs
- ½ + ½ cup Organic Einkorn Pancake & Baking Mix - or more as needed (see notes), divided
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional: ½ cup raisins
- 3-4 tablespoons butter, for frying
Method
- In a large bowl, crumble the farmer's cheese into little pieces with a fork (strain it first if your farmer's cheese is not crumbly! See notes).
- Add 2 eggs and mix well. Add ½ cup pancake mix (reserve ⅓ cup for step 2), sugar, and salt. Mix well, using the fork to break apart any clumps of flour or farmer's cheese. Add raisins, if using. The 'batter' will be thick like dough, not like traditional pancake batter.
- Prepare a small bowl with about ⅓ cup pancake mix - you will use it to dredge the pancakes.
Scoop out approximately ¼ cup pancake dough at a time. (See recipe notes below.) Use your hands to gently flatten the dough into a small patty. Dredge the pancake with flour on both sides. Shake off the extra flour and set aside until you are ready to cook the syrniki pancakes. - In a large skillet, heat 3-4 tablespoons of butter, and gently place the flour-dredged cheese pancakes into the pan using a spatula. Cook on medium-low heat for about 4-5 minutes per side, or until each side is golden brown. Place on a paper towel to cool.
Do not crowd the pancakes - cook them in 2-3 batches if necessary. - Serve these syrniki the traditional Russian way - with sour cream and your favorite fruit preserves and a sprinkling with powdered sugar.
Notes:
Make sure you start with a farmer's cheese that is dry and a little crumbly, it should be packed like a brick. If it is packed in water or has a texture similar to ricotta, you'll need to strain it in a fine-mesh colander until it is dry and crumbly. Otherwise, you'll need to add too much pancake mix to the syrniki dough and it will be a little too doughy and not cheesy enough.
Add as much pancake mix to the dough as needed to make it into a soft dough and not liquid like a batter. If your farmer's cheese is wet, you might need as much as 1 cup mix.
Do NOT skip the dredging step! Otherwise your syrniki will stick to the pan and fall apart. It is easiest to scoop the syrniki dough with a ¼-cup scoop with a squeeze-release handle. Otherwise, you can use a spoon or your hands - just wet your hands in cold water so the batter doesn't stick to your hands.
It's OK if the dredged syrniki are super soft and floppy. Just gently place them into the hot skillet and they will firm up as they cook.
recipe adapted from <https://www.babaganosh.org
An alternative recipe made with Cottage Cheese:
- 2 medium eggs, beaten
- scant ¼ cup (50ml) milk
- 4 tbsp honey
- 8 oz (225g) cottage cheese
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) Organic Einkorn Pancake & Baking Mix
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp raspberry jam
- raspberries
- 1 cup (100 g) natural yogurt
- 1 tsp icing sugar, to dust
Method
- Whisk the eggs, milk, honey and cottage cheese together. In medium bowl combine mix and the liquid ingredients, beat for 30 seconds into a light batter.
- Put a little butter in a nonstick frying pan set over a medium-low heat. When it starts to sizzle, spoon 3 tbsp batter into the pan to create a small round pancake. Depending on the size of your pan, you will be able to cook 2-3 pancakes at the same time.
- Cook for 3-4 mins until the underside is golden, then flip over and cook for another 3-4 mins, until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter, until you have 12 pancakes.
- Serve in stacks of 3 pancakes with 1 tbsp of jam spooned over, a dollop of yogurt, a few berries and a dusting of icing sugar.