[This is the introduction to the pancakes, with the original recipe from the New York Times. My simplified recipe is in the next post}
Sometimes in my search for good things to cook, a recipe that is truly amazing and worth the effort falls into my lap. This is the case with the Golden Diner Pancakes which was sent to my inbox by the New York Times. I have adapted the original recipe to make it feasible for making on a Saturday morning.
First off, I need to say I love American pancakes, attempting them at home with varying degrees of success. Pancakes made from a packet will be thicker, but home-made pancakes contain no additives.
Having tried so many recipes we (as Mr Gochugaru loves pancakes too) have now found the pancakes of our dreams. As the Golden Diner menu describes their Honey Butter Pancakes: fluffy pancakes served with honey maple butter, finished with lemon zest. There is the option to add berry compote.
Our last trip to New York was in Summer 2018. Many family events since then have anchored us to London and Kuala Lumpur, and it is unlikely we will make a trip there anytime soon. Making these pancakes is a fun activity to bring a little of New York into our London kitchen.
The NY Times recipe is easy to follow, and I am grateful for the metric measurements. Having read through the details several times I decided to cut back on some processes and concentrate instead on the pancakes. I made the maple-honey syrup but not the maple-honey butter. Instead of the berry compote I used some mixed berry cheong I had macerating in the fridge.
This is an opportune moment to talk about the fruit cheong. The recipe is from FERMENT, by Kenji Morimoto (published by One Boat, ISBN 978-1035053742). This is part instruction and part recipe book. If you don’t want to make your own kimchi, miso, pickles, kombucha or cheong, you can use ready made versions of these items and cook from the given recipes.
The cheong is easy to make. Place one part sugar to one part fruit in a large mixing bowl and gently stir to combine. Scoop the fruit into a glass container and store in the fridge. Over time, the fruit will release its juices into the sugar. This is the ‘berry compote’ I used over the pancakes.
The fruit takes around 10 days to release its juices into the sugar
To ensure success, I heated the buttermilk and water in my Thermomix, which has a setting for 37 C, which is the right temperature to activate yeast.
The order of making the pancakes step-by-step:
1. make the pancake fermentation, set aside for one hour
In the meantime (omitting the maple-honey butter)
2. make the maple-honey syrup
3. weigh out the rest of the dry ingredients, set aside
4. beat the egg into the oil, set aside
5. get ready the frying pan and spatula
6. line a large and flat tray for heating the pancakes in the oven
7. set the table
8. place the maple-honey syrup and fruit compote/ cheong/ on the table for serving
Cook the pancakes
9. Heat up the oven
10. pour the pancake fermentation into the egg mixture, followed by the rest of the dry flour mixture, mix together
11. fry the pancakes
12. keep pancakes warm in oven until ready to serve.
As there are several parts to the recipe, I have decided to write it in the next post (Saturday Morning Pancakes – Part 2). Make sure to read the original recipe first, and get a good night’s sleep, before attempting the pancakes!
