While most of our recipes in this Virtual Advent Calendar boast of a long family history, I need to confess that this is not the case with this recipe. In fact, this recipe came about on the 7th of December 2020. Yes, I came up with it yesterday, while I was looking at that forlorn cherry-berry pie filling I had made some days prior, but had some leftover over. So, truly, it’s not so much a recipe as it is a cross-over of dishes, a Christmas hybrid, if you like. You can have it over breakfast with a nice warm cup of perculated coffee or a late-night treat. You can also make them in bunches and freeze them.
The filling most of the time I just improvise. I tend to throw things together in a pan and hope it turns out alright. More often than not, it turns out better than alright. Ιn greece we have this saying: “you cook by eye” (“με το μάτι” in Greek/”ad occhio” in Italian) and most of the time, this is how I cook. This time around, I’ve tried to be more methodical and actually write down the right cooking weights and measures.
The pancake mixture should yield about 8-9 pancakes, but this will depend on how big your pancakes are.
Some tips:
Pancakes: if you like your pancakes fluffier than the ones pictured, I’d recommend you use self-raising flour. Otherwise, if you only have plain flour, I’d just slightly increase the amount of baking soda. I tend to use half a teaspoon. The golden rule I always use for pancakes is: 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg.
Filling: Normally, you can add a thickening agent such as cornflour, but I tend to just let in simmer in really low hit with sugar. This seems to be doing the job just as well, but it boils down to personal preference. The recipe for the filling below provides enough filling for the pancakes. I like my filling a bit sweet, though you can definitely use less sugar and spice. Always make sure to taste the mixture throughout!
Written by Elena Zolotariov, IES PhD Candidate.
Ingredients
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Pancakes
- Filling
Instructions
- If you're doing everything from scratch, I'd start with the filling as it takes the longest to prepare. In a pot, you add the frozen mix berries and blueberries with the orange juice. Cook this in low-medium heat until the berries start thawing.
- Add honey, caster and light brown sugar as well as the spices and the zest of orange. Mix it all up nicely. Leave it over a gently fire for half an hour. Ocassionally check your blend and stir.
- Pour the cognac. I like cooking the filling over a couple of hours to really get this sticky mixture without a thickening agent. Taste your blend; it might need extra spices or cognac: add to your taste.
- For the pancakes: sift the plain flour and baking soda. This will later result in a homogeneous mixture.
- Make a little hole in the flour: add your sugar, your egg, and milk. Mix with a hand mixer or whisk until all the ingredients have blended nicely. I tend to use a whisk.
- Finally, pour olive oil in your pan. 3 tbsp will do the trick. I then take a napkin and spread the oil around the pan. Once it has warmed up, over medium high heat pour some of your mixture. My pancakes tend to be 5cm in height and width.
- Turn your pancake over once the top has started bubbling. Leave it for 1'. Repeat.
- Decorate pancakes with mixed berries, banana, your filling, and sift some icing sugar for extra sweetness. Bon appetit!