Lemon and sugar. Nutella and banana. Bacon and maple syrup. Some pancake toppings are staples – but why not trying something a little fancier this year?
Committ to your own totally extra Pancake Day and get prepared by buying all your ingredients early to save the last-minute dash on Tuesday.
Here are three of our favourite dishes from Posh Pancakes. They’re quite the recipes – but while they take a bit of effort, looking at the photos, they’ll be totally worth it.
Salted caramel pancakes with pear and walnut
A dessert for those who love salted caramel “so much they could drown in it”, apparently. The pancakes here are crêpe style.
Serves: 4, generously
For the pancakes:
130g (41⁄2oz/1 cup) plain or wholemeal plain flour
1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
1⁄2 tsp sea salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
300ml (10fl oz/11⁄4 cups) whole milk
1 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
For the pears:
4 pears (about 185g/61⁄2oz) each
1–2 tbsp butter
crème fraîche, to serve
For the caramel:
160g (51⁄2oz/3⁄4 cup) light brown soft sugar
1 tbsp golden syrup
120ml (4fl oz/1⁄2 cup) double (heavy) cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
1⁄2 tsp sea salt flakes, or more to taste
splash rum (optional)
Plus, a handful of toasted walnuts, chopped, and crème fraîche, to serve.
Method:
For the pancakes:
1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt, and make a well in the centre. In a jug, whisk together the egg, milk, and melted butter. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the well and whisk, incorporating the flour as you go, to make a smooth batter. Don’t over beat or your pancakes will be tough. Leave to stand for at least 30 minutes. The batter will thicken over this time, so stir in 1–2 tbsp cold water before cooking.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan or crêpe pan over a medium heat and when hot enough – a sprinkle of water should hiss and sizzle – brush with butter or oil. Pour 60ml (2fl oz/1⁄4 cup) batter into the pan, quickly swirling the pan to cover the base. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the edges of the crêpe-style pancake look dry and the underneath is golden. Loosen the edges with a palette knife, flip, and cook for a further 1–2 minutes. Repeat with the remaining batter.
3. Layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
For the topping:
1. Start with the pears. Peel and cut them into eighths lengthways and remove the cores. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large frying pan until foaming, then add the pears and reduce the heat to medium–high. Cook for about 6 minutes, turning often, until golden and just tender. Add more butter to the pan if needed. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside.
2. For the caramel, whisk together the sugar, golden syrup, and 50ml (13⁄4fl oz/scant 1⁄4 cup) cold water in a pan off the heat. Set the pan over a medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly pour in the cream, stirring constantly, then add the vanilla. Stir in the butter, salt, and rum (if using). Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring, until thickened – the sauce will thicken further as it cools.
3. Fold the pancakes into quarters and divide between serving plates. Distribute the pears and walnuts on top and drizzle over some of the caramel sauce. Serve with crème fraîche, with extra sauce on the table for those who want more.
Passionfruit curd coconut pancakes
This recipe will make more fruit curd than you could possibly get through in one Tuesday night, but this a good thing: store the leftovers in a jar in your fridge for slathering on everything from toast to pavlova.
Makes: 10 crêpe-style pancakes
For the coconut pancake batter:
3 tbsp desiccated coconut 130g (41⁄2oz/1 cup)
plain (all-purpose) white flour
3 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar 1⁄2 tsp sea salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
200ml (7fl oz/generous 3⁄4 cup) coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted and cooled
For the passion fruit curd:
12 passion fruits
150g (5oz) unsalted butter, melted
150g (5oz/3⁄4 cup) caster (superfine) sugar
3 eggs, plus 3 extra yolks, lightly beaten
Plus, coconut yoghurt, to serve.
Method:
For the pancakes:
1. Toast the desiccated coconut in a dry frying pan, moving it about constantly with a wooden spoon, until pale gold. Transfer to a mixing bowl, then add the flours, sugar, and salt, and whisk to combine. Make a well in the centre. In a jug, whisk together the egg, coconut milk, 1 tbsp coconut oil, and 100ml (31⁄2 fl oz/scant 1⁄2 cup) cold water. Gradually pour the egg mixture into the well and whisk, incorporating the flour as you go, to make a smooth batter. Don’t over beat or the pancakes will be tough. Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes, then stir in 3 tablespoons of cold water to thin out a little.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan or crêpe pan over a medium–high heat and brush generously with coconut oil. Pour 60ml (2fl oz/1⁄4 cup) batter into the pan, quickly swirling the pan as you go, to cover the base. Cook for 1–2 minutes until the top starts to look dry and the bottom golden. Flip and cook for a further 30 seconds and repeat with the remaining batter.
3. Serve the pancakes immediately or layer them between sheets of greaseproof paper and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
For the topping:
1. For the curd, scoop the passion fruit pulp out of the fruit into a small pan and gently warm through over a medium heat. Pour the pulp into a sieve set over a bowl and push it through with the back of a spoon to separate the seeds. Discard the seeds.
2. Place the seedless pulp and the remaining curd ingredients in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water, and stir constantly for about 15 minutes until the mixture thickens to a custard consistency. The curd will thicken more as it cools.
3. Serve the coconut pancakes warm with the curd spooned over, topped with a dollop of coconut yoghurt.
Chocolate pancake cake
You need to cook an absurd number of pancakes for this cake – but the results are impressive. And very chocolatey.
Makes: 1 cake (Serves 12–16)
For the pancakes:
You’ll need about three quantities of the ingredients for around 30 pancakes.
For the chocolate filling:
300ml (10fl oz/11⁄4 cups) double (heavy) cream
300g (101⁄2oz) mix of dark/milk chocolate, chopped
pinch salt
golden syrup, to taste (optional)
For the chocolate glaze:
200ml (7fl oz/generous 3⁄4 cup) double (heavy) cream
100g (31⁄2oz) mix of dark/milk chocolate
pinch salt
golden syrup, to taste (optional)
Method:
For the pancakes:
Use the instructions in the first recipe.
For the topping:
1. Make the filling by pouring the cream into a pan and heat until almost boiling. Pull the pan off the heat, add the chocolate and salt, and stir until completely combined. Have a taste and add some golden syrup to sweeten (if using). Set aside to cool and thicken.
2. To assemble the cake, use a palette knife to spread a thin layer of the filling over each pancake, stacking them into a tower on a plate as you go. If you’re striving for neatness, stamp out perfect pancake circles using the ring of a 20-cm (8-in) loose-bottom cake tin. Insert the base into the tin, and then stack the chocolate-covered pancakes inside as you go. Transfer to the fridge to chill and set for 30 minutes.
3. Now, slide the cake onto a wire rack set over a tray or baking sheet (releasing it from the tin if you’ve used one) – an egg slice is useful to do this. To make the glaze, heat the cream as you did for the filling, add the chocolate and salt, and stir to combine. Add golden syrup to taste (if using). Leave to cool a little – you need the glaze to be thin enough to pour but thick enough to coat the pancakes. Pour the glaze over the pancake stack so that it runs down and covers the sides. Chill to set. Serve in modest slices with whipped cream or crème fraîche on the side.
Extracted from Posh Pancakes by Sue Quinn (£12.99). Photography © Faith Mason.