Without fail, the first 2-3 pancakes you cook are often the ugliest. :) Every once in a while, a hankering for pancakes hits, and although I only have them once or twice a year now, they still taste as good as ever. You can make them from scratch, or if lazy, open up a box of Betty Crocker Bisquick mix pancakes and add eggs or milk or whatever it says on the instructions printed on the box. They make very reliable and consistent pancakes. Instead of using a non-stick pan, like most folks, I prefer to use a well-seasoned cast iron skillet. Just oil lightly at the start of cooking and bring the pan up to heat over a medium flame.
Once you’ve done for first couple of pancakes, add a little more oil and spread it around the pan, and that should be sufficient for you to finish the rest of your pancakes without anymore additional oil. I think the “pores” of the pan open up when it gets quite hot, and the oil is now lodged in all the nooks and crannies so the batter is less likely to stick to the pan. I made 50+ pancakes that Sunday morning, and hit my groove by about the 6th pancake… so I am posting this photo above because JUST LOOK at those pancakes, guapa no? :) In the top photo, I ate just three of the flapjacks, with a generous knob of butter, and because we had no maple syrup at the beach, I drizzled some homemade guava “honey” (thin guava jelly) instead. Delicious.
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Yummy! I also put mixed berries (frozen triple berries from S&R) while in the pan. This is our breakfast on weekends.
ive had guava syrup for pancake before in Hawaii and i loved it. There is a breakfast place in the island of Hilo called Ken’s and they have a variety of pancake syrups i never knew would work well with pancakes. Your post reminded me of Kens Lilikoi syrup which was the most refreshingly unique of their syrups. Now im craving for pancakes with butter and syrup..just perfect for Sunday brunch.Thank you Marketman, Ive been following your blog for about 6 months now and you have always made me crave for food…bad for someone trying to lose weight..but hey at least im feasting with my eyes:)
guapa jud, MM! 50+ pancakes!…that’s a crowd! made them over the easter weekend, i make my pancale batter in a plastic putcher and pouring out is less messy than ladling, and this time, i added some finely grated lemon peel to the batter..it super-brightened the flavor! a mountain of pancakes was wiped out with almost half a kilo of bacon, and i thought my boys would pass up lunch, but no, they had room for lunch as well.
next time i’m making my own syrup and adding lemon peel and some juice to that as well.
Not much a pancake-eater here, my family loves waffles.
Hi MM. I use a cast iron skillet too but I don’t get ugly first pancakes. They’re all nice. I just place the skillet on low fire for about 10 min before raising the heat to the correct level. But the best way to cook pancakes is on an electric skillet or griddle. That way the temp will always be perfect and even. That’s still in my kitchen wish list.
I love your post. Reminds me of the pancakes I ate for breakfast the last time I was in a hotel. I don’t usually cook at home since I live by my lonesome, so hotel pancakes are always a treat. I prefer mine with honey, butter, and some jam.
I like your cast iron skillet. My eyes don’t only feast on the food you prepare, but on the cookware you use …
I also cooked tons of pancakes last Friday. Eaten with chocolate syrup and whipped cream ?
nutella and blueberry or raspberry jams (any berry jams), thinned…YUM….
Guapa nga! Nice looking pancakes there.
I have a theory about the first few pancakes looking ugly. I think the pan gets too hot at the start and so the first few pancakes don’t come out well. At about the third or fourth one, the temp of the pan is fairly regular from pancake to pancake hence the uniformity starting pancake 3 or 4.
Also, I’ve always used a stainless steel pan without the non-stick stuff but I never found myself needing to add more oil. But then again I only cook less than 20 pancakes so I probably never reached that point.
Will have to try guava syrup/jelly next time. I always have mine with real maple syrup. Sometimes with salted butter if I have it on hand.
None of that “Karo” high fructose corn syrup stuff for me.
Hahaha. And I thought I was the only one who noticed the bad first couple of pancakes… see these links… here, here and here. :)
It could be excess oil, it could be unevenly or inadequeately heated pan, etc.
I use our trusty cast iron skillet too when making pancakes -good heat conduction for even cooking. We have our ‘sunday morning pancakes’ family breakfast with bacon, hotdogs or spam (whichever is available in the pantry), and I always make the pancake batter from scratch (after having been victimized with several store-bought pancake mixes with ‘bukbok’ inside the plastic bag).
We love pancakes in our household especially blueberry pancakes. Ready mix or not, I use ice cold water to mix in the batter for a little crunch outside.I want it fluffy inside so I always separate the yolks from the whites. I fold the well beaten whites last.And yes, the first few ones are always imperfect!
Guava jelly! I just love it – paired with butter thinly spread on toast; on pancakes too! MM, do you ever have a day where you dont cook or anything food related? Just curious…hehe
Pancakes are always a treat and more so when somebody else makes it for you even if that somebody else happens to be a hapless teen behind the MacDonald’s counter. Pity I only get to have them after overnight driving trips.
Pancakes! Got to have them this morning with tart passion(ate) fruit preserve!
I take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time and warm the milk to room temperature before mixing the batter. With a nicely heated pan, the first pancake or two turns up as gwapa as the rest of the batch.
I really don’t like eating pancake but i sure love smelling them. Weird noh? but your pancakes look lovely.
Yum! i also tried pancake with Dates Syrup (local produce here in Saudi) soooo yummy. Thanks for the post MM.
Silver dollar pancakes are DA BEST! ….makes flipping them a loooooot easier!!!!! I use the IHOP recipe…and like Betchay, fold the beaten eggwhites last. I also add pureed very ripe bananas…for richness, I add a bit of softened cream cheese. The boys makes a sandwich with the Silver Dollar Pancakes, a bit of nutella or peanut butter and jelly and a slice of banana…of course, they are growing boys, so they can easily chow down 1 dozen of those tiny filled pancakes.
bettyQ can you share your pancake recipe? i just use bisquick and there are times i ran out bec. my son loves pancakes. i googled a recipe once and did not like those…
Great hints and shared info…cast iron,huh?..ok!! Got to dig that one out..and seperate the yolks and whites…got it!!
Guapa indeed! I am working up to a cast iron skillet…soon I hope!! Guava honey sounds awesome! Is it pancake season? I’ve been making them as well :)
My favorite comfort food :)
i love pancakes, especially sourdough pancakes that i made from scratch.
guava honey? that sounds interesting. wouldn’t mind trying that.
Alilay: this is my tweaked version of the pancakes from that famous pancake house.
2 oz. cream cheese, very, very soft.
3 tbsp. cream
1/4 oil or melted butter
about 1 cup buttermilk
1 extra large egg,
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 pinches salt
Ok….put the cream cheese in small bowl and microwave on defrost cycle for ONLY A FEW SECONDS till softened. Whip with a fork till smooth and thin it out with the 3 tbps. cream.
Put the thinned out cream cheese in a glass measuring cup. Add enough buttermilk to equal 1 1/2 cups total. Pour into a small bowl. Add the EGGYOLK and the melted butter or oil. Then add vanilla. You can also add 1/2 over ripe banana (finely chopped)
Mix the dry ingredients together ina bowl. Then make a well inthe center and add the liquid ingredients and blend. Meanwhile, whip the eggwhite in a small clean metal or glass bowl (I just used a whisk). Whip to soft peaks and holds its shape. Then fold into the batter. Then start cooking the pancakes. I use a non-stick skillet with just 1 kurot of butter on the pan for each pancake.
The recipe makes about 1 dozen 4 inch size pancakes. I think your son will really, really like those pancakes. They are light and he could easily chow down 3 or more.
Alilay…I forgot the sugar…add 2 tbsp. to the dry ingredients.
thanks betty i’ll do it this weekend will send you pictures on your hotmail address?
Oooohhhh, pancakes are among my ultimate comfort food. :) My most memorable ones are the one I had by a quiet beach in Palawan, topped with fresh succulent mangoes and wild honey. Lovely!
where can i find bisquick here in manila?