Pancake recipes taken from your favourite London restaurants, with ideas from Italy, France and America.
In an ideal world, you’d be meeting up with friends to scoff pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. But just because your favourite place to eat pancakes isn’t open right now, doesn’t mean you can’t mix up some pancake magic of your own at home.
Throw away the pre-made mixture from the supermarket and dare yourself to have a pancake day you’ll never forget, trying out some of the delicious recipes from London’s coolest restaurants. As we said, if you can’t go to the restaurant, why not bring it to you?
We’ve consulted some of the most-loved brunch spots in the capital on their best-selling pancake recipes and persuaded them to share their secrets so that you can chef this 16 February.
Not only are you now privy to some of the most popular pancake recipes from the London dining scene, but we’ve deliberately chosen recipes inspired by all over the globe so that you can get a taste for pancakes in Italy, America and France.
Below you’ll find the perfect way to whip up a classic crêpe, a ricotta-covered take from Italy and, of course, fluffy, American-style pancakes with lashings of apple pie and custard. Yum.
Chantilly cream and banana pancakes
Italian morning pancakes from Big Mamma Ingredients:
For the batter:
- 4 eggs
- 120g/4oz caster sugar
- 100g/3 ½ oz (generous 1/3 cup) ricotta cheese
- 500 ml/(generous 2 cups) cultured buttermilk
- 320g/11 ¼ oz (2 ½ cups) flour, preferably Italian ‘type 00’
- 40g/1 ½ oz (1/3 cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
- 5g /¼ oz (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 5g /¼ oz (1 ¼ teaspoons) bicarbonate of (baking) soda
- 1 pinch of salt
- 50g/2oz (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
To serve
- 2 bananas, cut diagonally into 1-cm / 1/2 inch-thick slices
- 12 tablespoons Chantilly cream
- Maple syrup
Method:
1. Make the batter by separating the egg whites from the yolks. Whisk the egg yolks with the ricotta in a large mixing bowl. Add the cultured buttermilk and mix. Sift in the flour, cornflour (cornstarch), baking powder and bicarbonate of (baking) soda. Whisk briskly until you have a smooth batter.
2. In a second mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until they form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
3. Heat the butter in a frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Using a small ladle, add a portion of batter to the pan. Cook the pancake for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden. Repeat the process to make 11 more pancakes.
4. Stack three pancakes on each individual serving plate. Add three tablespoons of Chantilly cream to each plate and scatter the banana slices over the pancakes. Drizzle each stack with maple syrup and devour!
This recipe is from the cookbook ‘Big Mamma Cucina Popolare’, by the Big Mamma restaurant group.
Apple pie and custard pancakes
Apple pie and custard pancakes from Polo Bar Ingredients:
Toppings:
- 1 slice of apple pie
- 500ml fresh whipping cream (a dash of vanilla extract and glug of Cointreau is optional!)
- 700ml custard
- Nutella (however much you want)
Classic French crêpe
Classic French crêpe from Le Deli Robuchon Ingredients:
- 1 litre whole milk
- 500gr flour T55
- 10g salt
- 9 eggs
- 250g caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 125g hazelnut butter
- 60ml vegetable oil
- 300ml water/milk
Peanut butter, caramelised banana and cacao pancakes
Ingredients:
- 405g plain flour
- 90g sugar
- 40g melted butter
- 25g baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 390ml almond milk
- Manilife deep roasted peanut butter
- 2 bananas
- 50g butter
- 50g golden caster sugar
- 80g cacao nibs (added to taste)
- Maple syrup and coconut yogurt to taste
Toppings:
Method
1. Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl – very important to sieve both to avoid lumps.Add the sugar to the flour.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter and milk.Pour into the flour and whisk until smooth.The batter will be very thick, and may be a little lump to start with but will become smooth after a few mins if whisking.
3. Pour the batter into a large jug. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil to lightly coat the base of the pan.
4. Pour the batter into the centre off the pan so it evenly spreads to the size of your desired pancake, the mixture should begin to bubble and slightly rise.
5. Flip the pancake after a couple of minutes, and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1 or 2cm in thickness.
Toppings:
1. Slice the two bananas into 2cm thick pieces.
2. Put a frying pan onto a medium heat and melt 50g of butter and 50g of sugar. Once this has melted and started to slightly bubble,place the banana slices in the pan to caramelise.
3. Don’t move your bananas for around 30 seconds as this will allow your bananas to gain some colour.
4. The bananas should be turned once the underneath is golden brown, the second side will caramelise faster than the first.
5. Once you have caramelised your bananas, layer them on top of your pancakes with the peanut butter and sprinkle with cacao nibs for that added texture and slight bitterness to offset the sweetness of the bananas.
6. Serve with the maple syrup and coconut yogurt on the side to personal taste.
This recipe is from Acai Girls in Chelsea.
Images: Big Mamma / courtesy of brands
Source: Read Full Article
Method:
1. To start, grate the vanilla pod into the milk. Gently cook the butter until it gets a light brown colour and begin to strain it.
2. Heat the milk until lukewarm and incorporate hazelnut butter. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, eggs, sugar, salt and oil.
3. Once mixed, slowly pour in the heated milk and hazelnut butter, and keep stirring until you get a smooth mixture.
4. Rest your mixture for a minimum of one hour before use. Add water to create your perfect consistency. Once rested, cook in a frying pan.
5. Serve with your favourite toppings!
This recipe is from all-day dining spot in London’s Piccadilly, Le Deli Robuchon.
Pancakes:
•500g plain flour
•5 eggs
• 1 cup milk
•100g caster sugar
•2tsp baking powder
•25g melted butter
•1tsp vanilla extract
•Pinch of salt
• secret ingredient: a big glug of sparkling water
Method:
1. Make the batter by sifting the flour and baking powder. Add a pinch of salt.
2. Whisk the eggs and mix into the batter lightly (careful not to overbeat) with the milk, melted butter, sparkling water, sugar and vanilla extract. The batter should be thick and smooth with no lumps.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan. Fill a small ladle with the batter mix and place into the pan.Cook for a few minutes until you see bubbles. Each pancake should be 4-5 inches wide.
4. Top with your whipped cream, custard (hot or cold), your slice of apple pie and drizzle with Nutella.
This recipe is from the menu at Polo Bar in Bishopsgate.
