Hot Cakes and Warm Memories

Is the coffee perking, the bacon frying and the fresh orange juice being squeezed? Many cooks prepare something a little special on weekend mornings when there’s time for more than toast and coffee.

A lot of us have fond memories of just such childhood breakfasts. Can you recall waking up to that wonderful sweet smell, your eyes opening and your nose smelling some delicious scents coming from the kitchen? Did you put on your big, fuzzy bunny slippers and head out to the kitchen to see mom or dad making a stack o’ big ones? Did you wait your turn for just one more hot cake behind a long line of siblings?

I most fondly remember the bunny and Mickey Mouse pancakes my mom used to make. She would dribble the batter in the pan just so (no special form or mold was needed) to make them come alive as animals and cartoon characters. Once, I even ate 40--yes, I counted--special little, tiny, silver dollar pancakes my grandma made me. As I sat at the table by myself munching away, she just kept them coming--they were so good!

I also love pancake sandwiches with an egg tucked in between two big, floppy flapjacks, the whole thing drizzled with syrup. Some like to stick in a few slices of crisp bacon as well. Another favorite, especially with kids, is pigs in a blanket--crisp little pork sausage links rolled up snugly in a big hot cake.

From griddle cakes, flapjacks, hot cakes, zeppelins and flannel cakes to blintzes, blini and Dutch babies, for some cooks the making of pancakes is ritualistic. They must use the sacred heavy griddle, the big, yellow, Pyrex bowl (circa 1950) and the pancake spatula. Some are adept at doing two skillets at once. Some ladle out extra-thin, delicate pancakes, while others like huge ones as big as your head.

At our house, there is the “sacrificial” pancake. After the pan is lightly oiled, wiped with a paper towel and flicked with water droplets that must skittle about just so, I ladle out one small pancake to test the pan--this first one always comes out either too dark or too light. Then, as tradition has it, I rub the pan with this sacrificial pancake. I believe this “procedure” allows you to adjust the temperature of the pan perfectly, and rubbing the pancake around in the pan seasons the pan just so. To have perfect pancakes, you must sacrifice one.

Many consider waffles an even bigger treat than pancakes. My friend Ann Manly goes crazy with glee thinking about the waffles her grandmother used to make. As a child she was amazed at how waffles break into sections, and she wanted each indented square to have a little syrup in it. Or should a blueberry go in every other indentation?

The hazelnut-spiced waffle recipe below is certainly a dressed-up version of the classic buttermilk waffle. Mine has a spiced batter sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts and cooked in the waffle iron until puffy and slightly crisp on the outside. It can be topped with warm winter fruit compote and a little dollop of brown sugar-sour cream butter.

Breakfast pancakes need not be of just white, whole-wheat or buckwheat flour. Friend Ruth Bronz, a wonderful, down-home American chef and cookbook author, taught me about cornmeal griddle cakes made with cooked yellow cornmeal. Oh, are they light and tender! It was common in the old days to make these with saved-up bacon fat from the coffee can on the back of the stove. That could make them a bit on the salty side these days. But if you do decide you want to totally indulge, then try using warmed, strained bacon fat for half of the melted butter.

After researching quite a few modern and old cookbooks, I found that pancake and waffle recipes really don’t vary too much. Most changes are flavor additions and toppings. My pan-size lemon-blackberry pancakes with citrus syrup are like traditional pancakes made with lemon juice-soured milk instead of buttermilk, plus lemon zest for a fragrant, tangy lemon flavor. They are lightened by folding in whipped egg whites and given that extra special twist with lightly defrosted frozen blackberries. Each pancake is as big as a plate. Topping them with a drizzle of homemade citrus syrup or even a lush berry syrup will bring bright smiles to your breakfast table.

So put on those favorite, fuzzy slippers and flip some flapjacks--these breakfasts are sure to make anyone feel warm and cozy.

CORNMEAL GRIDDLE CAKES

1 cup water

1 1/4 cups plus 3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 eggs, slightly beaten

Make sure the cornmeal is completely cooked. To test, taste a small amount; it should be tender and have no crunch. For a variation, add 1 cup finely minced ham to the batter. For an even richer griddle cake, increase the melted butter to 6 to 8 tablespoons or replace half of the butter with an equal amount of melted strained bacon fat.

Place water, 1 1/4 cups milk and sugar in heavy-bottom medium saucepan and bring to simmer. When liquid just comes to simmer, slowly sprinkle in cornmeal, whisking continuously so no lumps form. Slowly simmer, stirring frequently and adjusting heat as necessary to prevent splattering, until cornmeal is cooked and tender, about 4 minutes. Pour into large bowl to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent skin from forming.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

When cornmeal mixture has cooled, stir in melted butter and eggs, mixing until smooth. Stir in flour mixture. Stir in remaining 3/4 cup milk. Batter should be fairly smooth.

Heat griddle over medium heat (intensity will depend on type of griddle or skillet used). To test, sprinkle griddle with few drops water. If they skittle around, heat should be just about right. If not using nonstick griddle, drizzle about 1 teaspoon salad oil into skillet, then wipe with triple-folded paper towel to just lightly oil surface and remove any extra grease.

For each pancake, ladle 1/4 cup batter onto heated griddle and cook until pancakes turn slightly puffy and couple bubbles appear on surface (this type of pancake has very few bubbles compared to regular ones) and underside is golden brown. Turn and cook until browned on other side.

16 griddle cakes. Per cake:

101 calories; 172 mg sodium; 37 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams protein; 0.05 gram fiber.

PAN-SIZE LEMON-BLACKBERRY PANCAKES

1 3/4 cups milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon finely minced lemon peel

2 eggs, separated

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 cups (8 ounces) frozen blackberries, partially thawed but still firm, or substitute fresh berries in season

Citrus Syrup, warmed, optional

When cooking pancakes this large, you need to get good but slow browning for the pancake to cook all the way through in the center. If you have an older, worn nonstick skillet, you may need to lightly oil the pan before using. Be sure to use individual frozen, not block frozen, berries with no sugar. The recipe is also great with fresh summer raspberries. Serve the pancakes with warmed citrus syrup.

Mix together milk and lemon juice in small bowl and let stand 10 minutes.

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and lemon peel in large bowl.

Whisk egg yolks into milk-lemon juice mixture. Add all at once to flour mixture and stir, mixing in melted butter until just incorporated. Do not overmix; some small lumps will remain.

Whip egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold half of egg whites into batter, then gently fold in remaining half. Gently fold in berries.

Ladle 1 cup batter into hot 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, being sure to get even amount of berries for each pancake and moving berries around to distribute evenly. Pancake should be pan-size.

Turn pancake when puffed and golden brown and multiple bubbles have appeared. Be sure that pancake has had enough time to set before turning since larger pancakes take longer to cook through in center. Cook on other side until golden and cooked all the way through. Serve immediately with drizzle of warmed Citrus Syrup.

5 pan-sized pancakes. Per pancake, without syrup:

404 calories; 568 mg sodium; 116 mg cholesterol; 14 grams fat; 60 grams carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 1.38 grams fiber.

CITRUS SYRUP

1 cup water

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon peel strands

Lemon peel strands are made from the zest, or outer peel, of the fruit with no white pith remaining. You can use a fine zesting tool that makes long, very thin pretty strands or you can peel off the zest with an ordinary potato peeler, being sure not to get any white pith, then finely cut it into very thin, long strips.

Heat water and sugar in heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and stir to dissolve sugar. When completely dissolved, increase heat to high. When syrup comes to boil, cover pan and start timing immediately. Boil syrup about 3 minutes. Uncover and add lemon juice and lemon strands. Continue boiling, uncovered, until syrupy, about 3 minutes longer. (If syrup is too thick when reheating, thin with a little water. If too thin, boil 1 to 2 minutes to reduce.)

1 1/2 cups. Per 1/4 cup:

260 calories; 1 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 68 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.

HAZELNUT-SPICED WAFFLES

1/2 cup hazelnuts

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup butter, melted

Vegetable oil nonstick cooking spray, optional

Winter Fruit Compote, warmed, optional

Brown Sugar-Sour Cream Butter, optional

Lightly toast hazelnuts on baking sheet in 375-degree oven 5 to 6 minutes. When cool enough to handle, rub in clean dish towel to remove some of skin. Chop.

Sift flour, brown sugar (pressing it through with fingers), baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg and salt into large bowl.

Mix eggs, buttermilk and melted butter in small bowl. Add liquid mixture all at once to dry ingredients and stir just until well combined. Do not overmix; some tiny lumps may still remain.

Preheat waffle iron until hot. Spray with vegetable oil cooking spray if needed and ladle in batter for 1 waffle, usually about 3/4 cup for standard modern round waffle maker (will vary depending upon appliance). Sprinkle batter lightly with 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons hazelnuts and close waffle iron. Cook until steaming has completely stopped. Waffle should be golden brown and crisp.

Carefully lift waffle off of iron with fork. Serve immediately topped with warmed Winter Fruit Compote and Brown Sugar-Sour Cream Butter.

4 large waffles. Each waffle, without toppings:

481 calories; 664 mg sodium; 141 mg cholesterol; 23 grams fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams protein; 0.60 gram fiber.

WINTER FRUIT COMPOTE

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1 firm pear, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces

1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced into 1-inch pieces

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/8 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

6 tablespoons water, plus 2 to 4 tablespoons more if needed

1/2 cup sugar

Cooking time will depend upon the fruit used. If the compote is tender but the liquid is not reduced enough, remove the fruit from the pan and cook down the syrup until thickened, then return the fruit to pan. If the fruit has not cooked and the mixture becomes too dry, add more water as necessary, a couple of tablespoons at a time. Different fruit will expel more liquid than others. You can use all pears or all apples if you wish, adjusting the cooking time as necessary. Raisins can be substituted for half or all of the dried cranberries.

Combine cranberries, pear, apple, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, 6 tablespoons water and sugar in heavy-bottom saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and simmer until apples are completely tender and mixture is glossy, reduced and syrupy, 8 to 12 minutes. Add more water as necessary to get desired texture. Serve warm. Keeps up to 1 week, refrigerated.

1 1/2 cups. Per tablespoon:

39 calories; 0 sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.38 gram fiber.

BROWN SUGAR-SOUR CREAM BUTTER

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed

Process sour cream, butter and brown sugar in food processor or mixer until very smooth.

3/4 cup. Per tablespoon:

81 calories; 81 mg sodium; 23 mg cholesterol; 9 grams fat; 1 gram carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0 fiber.