Real American Pancakes/Waffles

Brief background:

Here's to making meals from the scratch with healthy and fresh ingredients. If you have the luxury of time and you are really into knowing what's inside your meals, you may consider making your pancakes yourself rather than buy those store pancake mixes that you cannot tell what has gone into it. Trust me these pancakes look and taste even better than Aunt Jemima's.

Friends, you must invest in measuring cups for this recipe, no guessing here please, so go out and purchase one because everything needs to be very accurate for the pancakes to turn out fluffy. Another key thing is that you need to have a light pastry hand as over-mixing will toughen your pancakes (something about the flour turning to gluten due to over handling!) This recipe makes 2 dozen pancakes.

Ingredients:

4 large eggs

1/2 cup oil and butter (half and half)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoon salt

2 3/4 cups milk

2 3/4 cups self-raising flour

8 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon Lemon/orange rind (optional)

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (optional)

(All measurements are levelled, not pressed)

Preparation:

1. In a medium size round, wide but shallow bowl, measure out your dry ingredients - flour+baking powder+salt+sugar. If using Macdougall's non-sift self-raising flour there is no need to sift but if you cannot get self-raising, just double the baking powder measurement. Mix properly with spatula/wooden spoon to distribute evenly. Set aside.


2. Separate your egg whites from the yolks into two smaller equal sized round bowls; Get help with whisking the egg whites to peaked stiffness, usually takes like 10-15 mins (my 9 year old daughter helps here). Now, you would notice that the egg whites stiffen very fast on the top but have liquid underneath, so what you do is scoop out (into clean bowl) stiff whites from the top as you whisk till you get to the last bits. This technique makes sure that you get all egg whites stiff. So when the whites form firm peaks when you scoop up with whisk you know its ready. Set aside.


3. Now, in your yolk bowl, add milk and the cooled melted 1/2 cup of half butter and half oil (melted butter and oil must measure up to 1/2 cups, for more buttery flavour, use more butter than oil). Add vanilla and rind here if preferred. Stir to mix well.


4. In your flour mixture, pour in the egg yolk mixture and scrape in the egg whites (with spatula) and while using the spatula, scrape downwards towards base of bowl, turn clockwise and lift mixture to the centre gently, moving from one angle till you complete 360 degrees round the bowl from where you started. The idea is not to over mix as you do not need a very smooth mixture, infact mixture should still be quite lumpy!


5. Put mixture into freezer till you are ready to fry.


6. Prove your frying pan by melting a little butter and oil into the pan at medium heat till melted and slightly hot. Pour off oil into a mug for use while frying pancakes later.


7. Reduce heat completely to low and if pan is very hot remove from heat to cool a bit.


8. With a large cooking spoon or ladle, scoop out pancake mixture into frying pan and return to heat. Return mixture to freezer.


9. Fry on the one side till large bubbles appear, then flip over with slotted frying spoon. when it cooks underneath, you turn over into a covered serving dish.


10. Repeat 9 till all the mixture is finished.

Please note that the pancake mixture should never be left outside of the fridge when not in use, once you scoop out for frying return mixture to the freezer. This means that you will be making several trips to the freezer while frying, but not to worry, its worth the effort as the cold environment keeps the mixture in top condition and does not allow the flour to break down further. It is also important not to stir the mixture at all again after the initial 360 degrees stir. All you need to do to scoop in sections until you finish frying the pancakes.

Serve warm with pancake syrup; chocolate spread with a topping of vanilla ice cream; whipped cream; plain yoghurt topped with brown sugar; plain honey.

I am sure that you will enjoy this!