SUNDAY MORNING APPLE PANCAKES with Cinnamon Honey Caramel

9th July 2019

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One of the first recipes I learnt to prepare by myself was pancakes. It’s a simple recipe I am now teaching my children to make. Although they are a little way off cooking them by themselves, for now at least I have navigated an extra quarter-hour in bed on Sunday mornings while they prepare the mixture.

I am using the last of the stored apples from autumn up in many ways at present. I store them (in the way my Dutch grandma did), individually wrapped in a small square of newspaper, then packed snugly into a cardboard box and kept in a cool room, where they last for several months.

This storage method works best for cooking apples such as Granny Smith, Cox’s Orange, Sturmer, and Golden Delicious. Interestingly, cooking apples often fall under heritage varieties now as these days it seems the eating apple is more favoured. Call me old-fashioned, but I beg to differ for home storage and flavour. Heritage apples are my first choice.

I don’t currently have a cooking apple in the garden. A Sturmer (Pippin) apple is on the wish list when space permits but, for now, I rely on roadside stalls I pass when we are Sunday driving.

Sunday Morning Apple Pancakes

Ever wondered why that first pancake often fails? There are a few things in play here, first, the heat of the pan is important to seal the batter as soon as it hits the hot pan. Too cold and it will stick.Secondly, often the pan needs to "season" with a thin film of fat. Again, if the pan is not hot enough, the fat won't spread evenly and the first pancake will stick. Personally, I find that first pancake a good excuse to taste test the batch to come.

Servings 8 pancakes

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups standard white flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ¼ cups milk
• ½ cup yoghurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cooking apple, grated (see suggestions above)
• Ghee or butter for cooking

Cinnamon honey caramel sauce

• 50 g butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

• Place the flour and baking powder into a bowl, and use a whisk to combine and aerate. Pour in the milk and yoghurt and whisk into a smooth batter.
• Add the eggs and beat until creamy, all the time incorporating air into the mix for lighter pancakes. Fold through the grated apple.
• Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan over a moderate to high heat. Make sure the pan is hot before continuing. Once hot, add a small knob of butter (or gheto the pan and swirl to evenly coat the base.
• Use a half-cup scoop to pour the batter into the pan and quickly tilt the pan to spread the batter to the edge. The pancake should be on the thin side. Once bubbles appear on the surface, flip and cook until golden on both sides. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
• To make the cinnamon honey caramel sauce, combine the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer. Remove from the heat, add the lemon juice and pour into a serving bowl.

Notes

This recipe also makes delicious Afternoon Apple Pikelets, simply reduce the milk to ½ cup to make a thicker batter. Dollop spoonfuls into a hot frying pan and cook as above. Makes about 12 pikelets.