Jan 23 2011
Pancakes 101
Once upon a time, the four of us took a three-week camping trip through the Canadian Maritimes. Starting with Fundy National Park in New Brunswick (where we hiked through a moss-covered forest to a stunning waterfall on our anniversary), we traveled through Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia before taking a ferry back to Maine and from there, back to New York. The Maritimes are an uncommonly beautiful region, well-worth the visit for its beauty, history and wonderful people. One thing the area is not overly memorable for, however, is its cuisine. The local food, by and large, is rather unremarkable, and it is hard for me to think of much I ate there (with the notable exception of lobster dinners at local churches – truly an experience) that is really worth remembering.
This is why the pancakes at the Stone Horse Café in Granville Ferry, NS, stand out in my mind as one of those moments. The Cafe is located adjacent to a campground near Annapolis Royal. We had breakfast there just once, but, oh, what a breakfast. Maybe we were just hungry, and maybe just in the right mood, but I remember that meal as much for the quality of the food as for the warmth of the place. The jams (all homemade) were just the right balance of fruit and sugar, served in miniature pots, as was the butter. The eggs were cooked to perfection, and the pancakes were just the fluffiest I had ever had, utterly unlike the starchy, uninspiring mess most of us associate with the word – it’s those supermarket mixes that are to blame, you know. Aunt who? Please.
Those pancakes were so good in fact, that I had to ask for a recipe. The friendly young woman who ran the place (she cooked and served all the food herself) was more than happy to oblige, and although she was a very busy bee indeed, she took the time to write it down for me that morning; I still have the index card on which she wrote it. What makes the pancakes so fluffy is the amount of baking powder (a whopping 4 Tbsp). Just make sure you use aluminum-free here; the taste of your pancakes really depends on it. One thing I added to the original recipe is 2 Tbsp of ground flax seeds, which, on top of being a nutritional powerhouse, add texture and flavor to the blend.
I hope you enjoy them. They’re easy to make, so much so that I am certain you will now throw out whatever mix you have in your kitchen, if any, and make this your go-to Sunday morning recipe.
Stone Horse Café Pancakes
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder
2 Tbsp ground flax seeds
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups + 4 Tbsp milk
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and milk together, and add to the dry mixture–the mixture will more than double in volume, so make sure the bowl you choose is big enough. Mix gently until dry ingredients are wet; there may be a few small lumps in the batter, which is fine. The baking powder will start to react almost instantly, but that is fine too. Cook over medium heat in a little bit of hot oil (peanut or canola are fine), about 1/4 cup of batter at a time, until the edges look dry. Flip once and cook on other side until golden brown. Serve with warm syrup or jam, fresh fruit and/or nuts (a cup of green tea on the side doesn’t hurt either). Thank your lucky star for lazy mornings.
Hungry yet?
It’s ok to eat pancakes for dinner, right? Because these look good and I want to make them now, but it’s 6 pm.
It’s always 6pm somewhere, Mary.