Cooking From Memory: Saturday Morning Pancakes

I may as well start at the beginning; it seems appropriate. My culinary career began with Saturday morning pancakes. The fluffy, golden, griddle-fried vehicles for butter and syrup had been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember. The smell of flour, sugar and hot oil wafting through the house always carried with it the promise of a bright new day, full of promise and free from the drudgery of school. On Saturday, I was a morning person.

I don’t know exactly when my siblings and I started to actually make the Saturday morning pancakes ourselves or whose brainchild it had been. Had my mother actually thought that it would be a good idea to let her darling children into her clean kitchen and turn them loose with milk and flour and eggs and whisks and spatulas and a hot stove, I have vivid memories of the process. Strangely, I have no specific memories of actually eating the cakes we created.

There is, of course, that great universal memory labeled “Pancake” stored in a pretty prominent position in my mind but nothing that is directly linked to those early culinary experiments. My favorite pancakes are a pretty basic buttermilk pancake recipe. Over the years, I have refined and simplified the recipe so that it is easy to remember.

This recipe will give you tall, fluffy pancakes but if you would like taller, fluffier pancakes, try separating the egg, whipping the white to soft peaks, and gently folding it into the batter right before frying the cakes. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl, whisk briefly to ensure all ingredients are combined. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk. Slowly pour in melted butter, whisking constantly.

Pour liquid ingredients into dry and stir until all ingredients are moistened but some lumps remain. Be careful not to overmix or your cakes will not be at their most tender. Heat a thick-bottomed frying pan or skillet over medium high heat and lightly coat with oil, butter or pan spray.

When a drop of water sizzles in the pan, it is hot enough to use. Pour desired amount of batter into the pan, about ¼ cup for normal sized pancakes. When the edges begin to brown and the surface of the batter begins to bubble, the cake is ready to flip.

The cake is ready to serve when the center feels firm and slightly elastic. If you are unsure, flip the cake over and poke a little whole in the center. The inside should be moist and have air pockets without any wet batter remaining. Serve hot with butter and syrup or any other favorite topping.

In my family, my parents had a rule. Your first pancake had to have something other than syrup topping it. This could be jam, applesauce, yogurt, whatever you wanted as long as it wasn’t maple syrup. In that spirit, I am including a recipe for fruit preserves as well as one for a spicy maple syrup, to be used only on your second pancake. Combine fruit, sugar and salt in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Squeeze the lemon into the pot and add the rind. Mash the fruit until slightly chunky. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer.

Simmer, stirring, 12-15 minutes. Check for thickness by dropping preserves onto a chilled spoon and dragging your finger through it. It is done when your finger leaves a distinct track. Check for sweetness at this time as well. Adjust sweetness with sugar if not sweet enough or lemon juice if too sweet. Cook longer if preserves are not thick.

Refrigerate to chill completely and set preserves, or serve warm and runny. Heat honey and syrup to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Let steep for 20 minutes then strain. Bruce Wallis cooks at the Leelanau School and is an experienced chef de cuisine with a culinary arts degree from Fox Valley Technical College. He was a contributing food columnist for the Duluth News Tribune.

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