Valentine’s Day classic American buttermilk pancakes
Having just returned from a gloriously sunny California – where I helped my dad, who lives there, celebrate his seventieth birthday – I have been inspired to include some American ideas in my cooking. The Americans love their food and if you’ve ever eaten in an American restaurant you can understand why. There’s just so much on offer and so many options to choose from. Even something as simple as ordering breakfast can take a full five minutes, choosing between how you want your eggs – fried, scrambled, poached, omelette, egg whites only, sunny-side-up – to what type of toast you want to accompany the eggs – white, wheat, sourdough, bagel. Then there are all the other wonderful and seemingly odd breakfast options from granola to breakfast burritos, and of course the temptingly rich and utterly naughty full cream pancakes. One has options here too, from the full stack – which usually comprises six fat, dinner-plate sized pancakes piled high with whipped cream, maple syrup and bacon – to the short stack, which is a slightly less heart-attack-inducing three pancakes. I managed a short stack just once on this recent trip and even that I shared with my whole family. All of this and the fact that Americans also love celebrating big occasions such as Christmas, Thanksgiving and Mother’s Day, got me thinking that these pancakes would make a wonderfully indulgent sweet breakfast treat for the one you love on Valentine’s Day.
METHOD
In a bowl, beat the eggs with the milk, buttermilk and melted butter then put aside.
In another bowl sift the flour, baking powder and sugar.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour mix and stir very lightly until the ingredients are just combined.
Take a small but heavy pan (I use a one omelette, non-stick pan) and heat gently with a small nob of butter in it. Once this is melted, add 3 tablespoons of the batter – you want them thick but still runny.
Tilt the pan so the batter covers the base evenly and turn the heat down to medium.
Cook until a few bubbles become visible on the surface and then gently turn the pancake over and cook for another minute or so.
Take the cooked pancake and place it on a baking sheet in a warm oven while you prepare the rest of the pancakes.
Serve with lashings of maple syrup and some strawberries for a bit of Valentine’s colour.
Eat and of course, enjoy! And don’t forget to follow Dominic’s blog at belleaukitchen.com
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