No pressure over pancakes, huh?

Rule #1. Do not make an appointment for a hairdresser’s for an early afternoon if you’ve planned to make pancakes late in the morning for the same day.

Rule #2. Do not make pancakes late in the morning if you’ve made an appointment for a hairdresser’s early in the afternoon for the very same day.

Yours truly didn’t abide by the rules aforementioned and ended up with the pancakes flying all over my kitchen and the visit to the hairdresser’s put a few hours back*.
I’ve had an idea to call one of my Saturdays a Pancake Day for long already, but didn’t seem to have guts enough to cope with my pancake-related unconfidence (yes, such a thing exists!) and said to myself ‘Some other day, Darling! Some other day!’ (it’s not bad to call yourself darling, is it? *puppy eyes and smiles*). But recently Cinnamonda asked me if I could share with her (and now with all of you) a (trusty) pancake recipe. Well, I’ve got many, and I made numerous attempts to bake some, but every single time I got defeated (either by lumps in a batter, or a pan that didn’t seem to be willing to be a non-stick frying pan *sigh*) and never made it to the end. However, this time was different, ‘cause I promised in public, and I’m a girl who keeps her promises, especially those made publicly. *wink, wink, wink, wink*

Before launching such a serious pancake campaign I had to find an authority’s support in the person of my grandmother (Grandma, I love you!), whose pancakes are just finger-licking good! So I gave her a call to ask for all the gory details of the recipe. *smile from ear to ear*

Today I made my pancakes (three were a dud, the rest was just splendid) and can proudly call Saturday of February the 2nd a day! *smiles*

And now for my

***Family Pancake Recipe***

Ingredients:

2 eggs
2 Tsp sugar (optional)
1 ½ cup warm milk
a pinch of salt
approx. 3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup lukewarm water
2 Tsp vegetable oil

Yields about 9-10 pancakes.

How to make:

1. Combine eggs, sugar (I didn’t use any, and it didn’t diminish the final taste at all), milk (warm it up slightly in a thick-bottomed pan) and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

2. Start adding up flour ½ a cup at at time to avoid lumps (and a possible ‘lumpful collapse’ afterwards). Better if you add up flour by sifting it through right into a bowl. Whisk thoroughly. The final consistency of the batter should be quite thick (like that one of a pureed soup), thus the amount of flour given in the recipe is approximate. In other words, use your intuition to judge when enough is enough.

3. The next step is a must! Let the pancake batter breathe. How? Very simple. Take a ladleful batter and pour it back into the bowl. Do so for a minute. You’ll see small bulbs coming up to the surface, what’s a good sign...your pancake batter is breathing in the oxygen.

4. Now you need to make the batter a bit runnier, thus pour into it 1 cup lukewarm water. Stir the batter well. Finally add vegetable oil, mix it in and let the batter breathe once again. Let it stand for about 20 mins.

5. Ladle the batter in a VERY hot and thoroughly greased low-rimmed frying pan, swish the pan around in a cicular motion to form a round disk from the batter and cook for 1 min (or a bit longer) until the edges start to turn golden. Run the tips of a spatula or knife around the pancake to loosen, peek underneath and flip iy. On the other side the pancake usually gets golden within 20-40 secs. Grease the pan after every two pancakes (or even after every one, as in my case).

6. Serve hot with any filling you fancy: be it honey, jam, home made peanut-butter, chocolate, fresh berries, fruits spreads, sour cream, smoked salmon with slices of fresh cucumber, or even caviar? *wink* (If you don’t eat them right away from a pan, set a heatproof plate with the pancakes over a pot with a simmering water and cover the pancakes with foil).

Oh, the pancakes were so good! I served mine with a fresh butter-like honey and a forest fruits jam. Fabulous!!!


P.S. Dear Cinnamonda, thanks to your friendly request I’m now a woman who can make pancakes! And I must tell it feels so damn good! When there is a Pancake Week in Russia preceeding the Great Lent before Easter I’m no longer a black sheep of the family!!! *wink, wink, wink, wink*).

*I love my new haircut.