Hooray! Tomorrow is pancake day, one of my most favouritest days of the year! I love pancakes and a day that celebrates these little lovelies is just a great day altogether. When I was a child, believe it or not . . . pancake day was the only time my mom ever made pancakes! I know!!! I had a deprived childhood! Seriously, they were a real treat!
When my own children were growing up, pancakes was the breakfast I cooked for them every time they had a sleepover and also the breakfast we had whenever we went to Uncle Ewen's for a visit. He made the most delicious buttermilk pancakes, and he always served them with canned peaches, maple syrup, sausage and bacon. Sooo good!
I have a lot of pancake recipes on here. There are Irish Pancakes, Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes, Bacon and Polenta Pancakes, Cinnamon Roll Pancakes, Silver Dollar Pancakes, Fluffy Ricotta Pancakes, Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes, Honey and Raspberry Pancakes, Cranberry and Oats Buttermilk Pancakes, Applesauce Pancakes with a Spicy Apple Syrup, Blueberry and Granola Buttermilks, Sticky Toffee Pancakes, and an Autumn Apple Pancake.
What can I say??? It's CLEAR we adore pancakes!
This year we were challenged by the people who make Tefal pans to come up with something new for Pancake Day and I was sent this lovely Tefal Jamie Oliver Pan to cook them in.
With it's unique 10th anniversary pattern on the bottom of the pan, it's new prometal hard non-stick coating (engineered for the rigours of every day use) and durable hard enamel exterior this is a dream pan.
It also sports the Thermo-Spot, optimal cooking dot in the centre, which changes color when your pan is at the right temperature for cooking. I have never had one of these before and was very excited about this.
Just look at that spiffin handle! Can you tell how excited I am about this pan. I hope so because it's an excellent pan and it cooked like a dream. No sticking whatsover, and great cookin' and it cleaned up fantastically!
I was also very excited about this pancake day challenge too, so excited in fact that I came up with not one, but two different pancake recipes for us and all of you to enjoy! Yay!
First up a little something healthy. Whole Wheat and Cheddar Pancakes with a Spiced Apple Topping and Syrup. Oh boy, sooooo good!
So tasty and so fluffy, using both plain and white flours and the tasty addition of wheat bran for extra goodness . . . and then just a touch of strong cheddar . . .
And that delicious topping . . . wowsa, with nice crispy tender wedges of tart Granny Smith Apple and maple and cinnamon. Oh so tasty. These were gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. And it was nice to know that the gorgeousness also came along with a bit of healthiness! Apples and Cheese, a marriage made in heaven!
*Whole Wheat Cheddar Cakes with Spiced Apple Syrup*Serves 4 Printable Recipe
Healthy doesn't have to taste bad. A tasty way of getting some healthy fiber into the family.
100g whole wheat flour (3/4 cup)105g of plain flour (3/4 cup)30g coarse wheat bran (1/2 cup)1 1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp ground cinnamonpinch nutmeg1/2 tsp salt335ml of milk (1 1/2 cups)2 large free range eggs78ml of liquid honey (1/3 cup)3 TBS butter, melted1/2 tsp vanilla120g of grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
For the Spiced Apple Syrup:1 TBS butter1/4 tsp ground cinnamonpinch ground nutmeg2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges(you should have about 16 wedges)225ml of maple syrup
First make the syrup. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg along with the apple wedges. Cook the apple wedges until they are softened slightly and golden brown. Add the maple syrup and heat through. Keep warm.
Whisk together the flours, bran, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk together the milk, eggs, honey, butter and vanilla. Add all at once to the dry mixture and mix together just to combine. Fold in the grated cheese.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Lightly grease the pan if needed and then ladle 1/4 cup ful's of the batter on, leaving space between to spread. Cook until golden brown on the underside and the tops are covered with small bubbles. Flip over. Cook until the other side is golden brown as well. Keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
Divide the pancakes amongst four heated plates, topping each serving with 1/4 of the apples and syrup. Serve immediately.
Another favorite of ours is rice pudding and so I thought . . . why not Rice Pudding Pancakes??? Why not indeed!!
All the flavours of a rice pudding . . . custardy rich egg . . . nutmeg, vanilla . . . rice . . . cooked into a tender and fluffy pancake . . .
And you all know how much we love Blueberries in this house, so it just seemed that a delicious sweet/tart blueberry syrup would be the perfect addition to crown these tasty little babies!
I could go on and on about how very tasty they were, but you'll just have to make them for yourself and see! These are winner/winner/chicken dinner's!!! Ceptin they are not chicken dinners . . . they're pancakes, and they're luciously scrumdiddlyumptiously good!
*Rice Pudding Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup*Serves 4 Printable Recipe
One of your favorite puddings as a pancake served up with a delicious blueberry syrup.
70g plain flour (1/2 cup)1 tsp baking powder2 TBS caster sugar1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg180ml of whole milk (3/4 cup)2 large free range eggs, separated3 TBS butter, melted240g of cold cooked rice (1 1/2 cups)
For the Blueberry Syrup:1/2 a jar of wild blueberry jam (about 2/3 cup)110ml of water (1/2 cup)
the finely grated zest of one lemon
the juice of half a lemonlarge pinch of ground cinnamon
First make the syrup. Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat to melt the jam. Whisk together thoroughly. Keep warm.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and nutmeg together in a bowl. Whisk together the milk, egg yolks and butter to combine. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Stir the milk mixture into the dry mixture just to combine. Fold in the rice and then gently fold in the egg whites.
Heat a large nonstick pan or griddle over medium heat. Butter if necessary. Spoon 1/4 cup fuls of the batter onto the heated pan, leaving space for spreading. When the undersides are golden brown and the surfaces are covered with tiny bubbles, flip over and cook just until the other side is golden brown. Keep warm in a low oven until you have cooked all the pancakes.
Serve hot and pass the blueberry syrup!
Many thanks to Tefal for sending me this lovely pan to work with. It really is a lovely pan. I adore it. And also for issuing the challenge. I had a lot of fun, and for Nicola at Yomego for contacting me about it in the first instance.
Now what are you all waiting for??? Treat yourself to a new pan and get flipping!
Note: Although I was sent a new pan, any and all opinions are my own and in no way prejudiced because of this.
