These made-from-scratch pancakes take only a few minutes of preparation and take full advantage of the height of berry season. They are a perfect solution to satisfying a sweet tooth without heating up the kitchen with a full out baking project.
I had originally thought to share a recipe for a mixed-berry cake with streusel topping for this month’s post. But we’re in a bit of a heat wave here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and our home relies on the evening fog to roll in for air conditioning during the summer. No mechanical a/c means heating the oven to 350-degrees isn’t in the cards. And if I need to make the cake a couple of times to get it right, that’d be insult on injury.
I’ve been making blueberry pancakes based on this recipe for quite a while. It’s a proven winner, especially since it isn’t fussy. It’s a bonus that I usually have all the ingredients on hand, with only the need of the berries.
For full disclosure, the “B Side” of these pancakes are a bit messy. The success of this recipe in adding the berries to each pancake before flipping them over. This means the berries are in direct contact with the pan, making for some spreading and sticking. The benefit of this method is the batter remains unsullied by berry juice.
I enthusiastically suggest you enjoy these any time of day from breakfast, brunch to dinner’s dessert.
TIP: This recipe halves nicely. To use one-half of an egg, simply crack it into a small bowl, whisk it to thoroughly combine the white and yolk; then measure out a couple of tablespoons for the recipe.
Berry-licious Short Stack
Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen
Makes 16 four-inch pancakes
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/ 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/ 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind, yellow part only with as little white pith as possible
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup fresh berries, a mix of blueberries and raspberries
iNSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk lemon juice and milk in a medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside to thicken whilst preparing other ingredients.
- Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and lemon rind in a large mixing bowl.
- Whisk egg and melted butter into the milk until combined. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined. A few lumps should remain. Do not over mix.
- Heat a large skillet or griddle pan over medium heat for 3 – 5 uuvminutes; add 1 teaspoon of the oil and brush to coat the pan evenly. Pour 1/ 4 cup of batter into 3 spots on the pan; sprinkle with a mixture of the berries, a total of about 1 tablespoon, over each pancake. Resist the temptation to put more.
- Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, a couple 2 – 3 minutes. Use a thin, wide spatula to flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side, another couple of minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.
- To keep the pancakes warm whilst you cook up all of the batter, set a wire rack over a heat-proof plate or cookie sheet. Heat the oven to 200-degrees F. When the pancakes are fresh out of the pan, transfer them onto the wire rack in the warm oven. Minimize how many pancakes you stack on top of each other and do not keep them in the oven for any longer than necessary as they will suffer in texture if kept warming for too long.
Serve with your preference of syrup, jam, jelly or fresh fruit.
