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Cultural note that has little relevance to this blog post but that will tie in, I promise:
I remember sitting in a hostel in Spain explaining to an English aquaintance why I prefer French toast to pancakes. “French toast,” I explained, “doesn’t just absorb all the syrup and get soggy, whereas pancakes do. That’s why French toast is better.” My friend looked at me, completely dumbfounded as to what I was talking about. I asked if she knew what French toast was. She shook her head. OMG. This girl is missing out. I LOVE French toast. It’s so delicious. I talk her through the cooking process and her face lights up. “Oh! Eggy bread!”
Um, what?
Yeah, that’s what she called it. And then, here’s the kicker. Her face scrunches up in horror and she gasps. “You eat eggy bread with syrup?”
“Yeah, what else would you eat it with?”
Get ready for this, fellow American readers. “Ketchup!! We eat it with ketchup!!” Now it was my turn to scrunch my face up in horror.
And out of this conversation was born French Toast / Eggy Bread night, in which we made up a batch of this delicious treat and served it with two bowls – one filled with syrup, and another with ketchup. We tasted each other’s version and agreed that we preferred our own country’s way of serving it.
All that to say, as a general rule, I do prefer French Toast to pancakes, for exactly the reasons I told Kate. Pancakes, first of all, are generally tasteless. And, when you add syrup (ahem, yes, syrup) they get all soggy. Tasteless, soggy, overly sweet – there just isn’t much good to say about these things. But then I found Cook’s Illustrated’s recipe for blueberry pancakes, and I had to admit, I was tempted. They looked good. And as I made them, they smelled good. And when I ate them, I was floored. They even tasted good! In fact, they tasted delicious. I’m not going to lie. Best. Pancakes. Ever. The blueberries completed the pancake experience. They give them texture and add a burst of flavor to every bite. And they’re even better than French Toast.
Serving suggestion: use real maple syrup, not ketchup. :)
blueberry pancakes
2 cups buttermilk
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 tsp vegetable oil (or PAM)
1 cup fresh blueberries or frozen blueberries
Measure out your ingredients.
Combine the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
Measure out your dry ingredients.
Whisk dry ingredients together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in a bowl. Pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir very gently with a spatula until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not overmix.
Heat a skillet over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp oil (or PAM) and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Pour batter into pan by 1/4 cupfuls.
Sprinkle with 1 tbsp berries over each pancake.
Cook pancakes until large bubles begin to appear, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip pancakes and cook until golden brown on the second side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer. Serve immediately and repeat with remaining batter.
3 responses so far ↓
1 LeAnn // Nov 1, 2009 at 9:31 am
I love the shot of the dry ingredients – sparkly
I’m so with you on the syrup sogginess/ikkiness. I’ve been opposed to syrup for a long time, until I recently bought *real* maple syrup, not that log cabin cr*p. It’s good! And it’s really good mixed with plain yogurt, eaten on the side (to avoid sogginess) of pancakes, etc.
Those look sooooo yummy. Ben’s a huge pancake fan and a huge blueberry fan – we must try these.
2 Beth // Nov 1, 2009 at 10:31 am
This site reminds me of Pioneer Woman’s: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/
now…on to your gardening tips…haha. No pressure. Your camera is doing an amazing job! I was going to add that when I tried blueberries in pancakes they seemed to cook better all the way through when I had fresh or non-frozen berries. My stove is from the middle ages I guess. Bye!
3 laurapamela // Nov 10, 2009 at 5:57 pm
Oh, I am definetly too hungry now. Very delicious! :)
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