We are just coming to the end of another maple syrup season here in Canada. The sap is only sweet enough a few months out of the year to tap it. Once buds begin to form on the trees the sap becomes bitter.
Of course, there is no better way to enjoy maple syrup than on light and fluffy buttermilk pancakes.
The best recipe I have ever found for pancakes comes out of the America’s Test Kitchen book The New Best Recipe.
One of the reasons, I enjoy using this cookbook is the lengthy descriptions and analysis they give each recipe. Ingredient by ingredient they break down the process trying out different variations and measurements until they have produced what they think is the best recipe. A simple concoction like pancakes is no exception – a full four pages is dedicated to its breakdown! They also get scientific asking questions like, “why does lumpy pancake batter produce fluffier pancakes?” (The short answer is undeveloped gluten and dissolved baking soda.)
So, if you like light and fluffy pancakes that are tangy and sweet you have to give this recipe a try. I think it is the best pancake out there!
Light and Fluffy Pancakes – adapted from The New Best Recipe
(If you have buttermilk on hand you can use 2 cups of it instead of the milk and lemon juice.)
Ingredients:
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Method:
Whisk milk and lemon juice in a medium bowl and set aside to let thicken. In a separate bowl, whisk dry ingredients together – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Whisk the egg and melted butter into the milk until combined. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredient bowl and pour the milky mixture into the center. Whisk very gently until just combined, there should still be lumps. Do NOT overmix.
Heat a 12 inch pan over medium heat and coat with butter or vegetable oil. Pour pancake mixture into skillet and heat until large bubbles come to the top (about 1-2 minutes). Flip the pancake and wait another 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately with maple syrup!
I know everybody has a favorite pancake recipe out there. How does this one compare to the one you use? This Easter weekend might be the perfect opportunity to try out a new recipe!
14 Comments
This looks great! If it’s anything like those delicious chocolate chip cookies you posted a few months ago (that I’ve made about 65 times since) then they should be amazing! I’ll definitely give these a try. I usually make buckwheat pancakes and use this recipe which is great: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-buckwheat-pancakes/Detail.aspx
This is just like my mother’s recipe and it is amazing you are right. She had an old red cookbook with the recipe bookmarked.
I follow it to the letter…but it says nothing about over mixing…which I’ve been doing until I read your explanation…so a big thank you! I wondered why mine always came out crepe thin.
Great photos!
ox
I make Martha Stewart’s Best Pancakes (well, my husband does, it is the only meal he’s in charge of) and they are quite good. Half whole wheat, half white flour, sometimes with buttermilk, sometimes without. Similar, but no lemon juice. I’m going to try this one. I love your Iittala? plates!
@tina.b Yes, iitalia origo plates! They’re one of my 52 favorite objects. http://www.themarionhousebook.com/?p=5711
Those pancakes look delicious! And your photos always look like they’re straight out of a magazine, so pretty!!
I love pancakes….our family has sporadic “breakfast for dinner” — usually when I don’t feel like cooking anything spectacular–which is often, haha. But for some reason, pancakes from scratch are simple enough for me to throw together.
Recently our daughter has developed gluten free dietary needs, which has challenged our little tradition quite a bit–and it almost made everyone hate pancakes–but I mastered it through alot of pancake failure…and now two months later, we are back up to speed!
**another thing, if you add more baking powder than the recipe asks for, like a rounded teaspoon rather than a level one–they are nice & thick & fluffy!
They look GREAT. Will definitely be trying them this week. We’ve got a super lucky dollop of public holidays over the next 10 days – 2 for Easter and 2 for Royal Wedding. The perfect time for lazy breakfasts, pancake experimentation and procrastinating over sitting room decoration!
Have a great Easter!
i also use a variation on martha stewart’s recipe, only instead of buttermilk i use nonfat yogurt — the thickness of the yogurt leads to extra-thick batter and thus even fluffier pancakes. (if the yogurt is too thick, i mix it with a little milk.) i’ll have to try this recipe and compare.
Yum, pancakes! I think a stack of those is in order for the long weekend.
I just discovered your lovely blog on bloglovin. I’m just new into blogging this year & have just finished off my own blog on fashion & interior design.
http://scrapbook-melissah.blogspot.com/
I had a lot of fun putting it together maybe you would like to check it out if you have a spare minute.
PS We made pancakes tonight & only 1 ended up on the floor!
x
Melissah
I use almost the same recipe without the lemon juice. I do use a capful of vanilla extract as well….
Mmmmm.
I just blogged my pancake obsession and I’m happy to see your perfect pancake recipe is quite similar to my own. I use an extra egg, and a little more sugar, butter, and baking soda. I’ll have to try this one out in my neverending quest for Sunday morning perfection!
The best gift I’ve received in years is my Broil King griddle. I am now able to make pancakes in far less time… which also means I make them far too often, if there is such a thing.
This pancakes taste fantastic!
For those of you looking for a vegan recipe, here is a bluberry pancake recipe:
http://www.fourgreensteps.com/community/recipes/breakfast/vegan-blueberry-pancakes
I have just tried these out and they taste WONDERFUL. Super fluffy and super yummy.
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