Buttermilk Pancakes - One of the yummiest pancakes there is

There is nothing like starting a morning with the aroma of pancakes wafting around the house. Among quite a few other breakfast dishes, pancakes also form a substantial part in my house. Check out my other Pancakes, one with multigrain including Teff flour and wholemeal Ricotta pancakes . I forgot to post this basic pancake which is one of the most popular of all pancakes and recently only when my friend wanted me to post this, that I even realised that I dint have it here in my blog! Really...How could I have forgotten!


Since this includes all purpose flour, I make this version say once a month. I dont want to leave out the good things in life :) I have tweaked the basic buttermilk pancake recipe to suit my pantry and nutrition. Instead of whole egg, I add two egg whites - leaving out the cholesterol. Instead of refined white sugar, I usually add Demerera sugar which is unrefined and is better for health. I reduced 3 tbsp butter to one - the egg white takes care of the absent butter.


Making it this way, my taste buds dont decipher the "lack" of anything and yet the favourite recipe remains almost the same except for little enhance in nutrition. Here goes.

Ingredients


• 1 cup All purpose flour
  
  
• 3 tbsp Demerera sugar (or white sugar)
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  
  
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
  
  
• 1/2 tsp salt (or as per taste)
  
  
• 1-1/2 cups thick buttermilk
  
  
• 2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
  
  
• 1 tbsp butter (optional)
  
  
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  

Method

Add all the dry ingredients together and stir until blended.



Mix the wet ingredients together seperately and stir well.



Add the two (dry and wet) ingredients together v v gently and slowly blend it together. Let them rest for 5-10minutes. Though it is not neccessary, I find that the pancakes turn out to be airer than without.



In a non stick pan, lightly drizzle some vegetable oil (like PAM spray) or use a paper towel to wipe the surface with oil. Make sure the pan is not too hot or too low. Medium heat is perfect for pancakes. Take a 1/4 cup of the batter and drop it in the pan.



You know you are doing it right, when you see the holes/bubbles appearing on the surface and also that it is time to turn. It takes approx 50 second to a minute.



Turn the pancakes when golden brown and let it cook for another few seconds or until done.



Keep them in kitchen towel to make sure that they are warm until you serve them. They are perfect as soon as they are prepared. Hence serve them pronto :) Drizzle maple syrup (a must! Dont even think of skipping it) and feel heaven coming down :)



I am sure that like me, you will enjoy these pancakes...But I am also sure that unlike me, you will not have to stop and take photos instead of relishing them :)


I was out of town for last few days, hence I have not been able to reply to your A.W.E.D entries and I will surely come and check out your entries soon. Will do the round up of A.W.E.D France soon.

A.W.E.D now travels into hands of other creative bloggers and the first such is taken over by fellow blogger PJ of Seduce your tastebuds who has come up with a fabulous theme : Korean. She has given excellent intro to the cuisine along with links for your perusal. Deadline is April 4th.

Lets start thinking and cooking Korean, shall we :)?

Eggless Almond Cake

Like many I try to collect eggless cake recipes. Most of them turn out to be 'Blech! what was I thinking', few of them 'Umm..so-so' and handful 'WOW is this really eggless? U must be kidding me'. This one is of the last category. I have made this couple of times and every time, I have been amazed at the ease,simplicity and wonderful taste of this cake. And yeah! The aroma while Baking is something else!



I made this a while back and only today realised that I had forgotton to post it! So here it is Eggless Almond Cake and also my entry for Sunita's Think Spice - Cinnamon Event

Ingredients


• 1 cup light brown sugar
  
  
• 1 cup water
  
  
• 1/3 cup Vegetable shortening
  
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  
  
• 2 1/4 cups cake flour
  
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  
  
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  
  
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (you get broken ones, I prefer this for the nice crunch than the thinly sliced ones )
  
  
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
  
  
• 1 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
  
  
• 1/2 cup whole almonds, blanched( optional )
  

Method

Combine sugar, water, shortening, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer for 5 min .Set aside to cool.



Sift the flour and add soda and baking powder along with the broken almonds. Mix well.



Gently add the wet ingrediants with the dry



Beat well.Add almond extract and mix well Pour batter into a cake tin.



Bake at 325 degrees F for approx 45min to 1 hr. If you want to decorate with the blanched almonds, then remove the pan from Oven abt 30min after set. Decorate with the almonds and then put it back in the Oven for another 15min.



Care should be taken not to keep it for a long while since it could make the cake very dry. If taken at correct time, it comes out all moist and crunchy with nuts.Regular chk is advisable.Once done, cool and cut into slices of your choice and sprinkle with powdered sugar if using.