Lemon Curd Pancakes

Lemon Curd Pancakes

This entire dish can be put together with store-bought/ready made components. For those of you that like to slave away in the kitchen, here are the recipes.

Butter
8 pancakes/crêpes
lemon curd
125ml cream
icing sugar

Pancakes/Crêpes:
250ml flour
1,2ml baking powder
2,5ml salt
250ml milk
125ml water
62ml vegetable oil
2 eggs

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to a bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk attachment.
Add the milk, water, oil and eggs to a jug and whisk together by hand until the eggs are fully incorporated.
Turn the mixer on low speed and slowly drizzle in the milk mixture.
Set the mixer on its highest speed and whisk for 2 minutes.
Take the bowl from the mixer and check whether there are any lumps in the batter. If there are, set a sieve over a large bowl and pour through.
Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rest for an hour.
Place a crêpe pan on medium-high heat, wait for it to warm up and pour a few drops of oil into the pan.
Spoon a soup ladle full of batter into the pan and swirl around to cover the surface.
Cook for a minute or two, flip the crêpe over and cook for another minute or so.
Keep going until you have no batter left.
Cover the crêpes and allow to cool completely.

Lemon curd:
grated zest of one lemon
220g caster sugar
110g butter, cubed
125ml lemon juice, strained (about three lemons)
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Add the zest, sugar and butter to a small saucepan and set over the lowest heat.
Stir the mixture until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
Add the lemon juice to the saucepan and stir through.
Now add the egg and keep stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Take the curd from the heat and pour into a glass jar.
Allow to cool completely.

Putting the dish together:
Preheat your oven to 200℃ and butter a ceramic tart dish.
Spoon 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd on a crêpe and spread it with the back of a spoon.
Roll the crêpe up and place it in the ceramic dish.
Keep going until all the crêpes are filled.
Pour the cream over the pancakes and sift the icing sugar over.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve warm.

Coconut Milk Crêpes

Coconut Milk Crêpes

250ml flour
1,2ml baking powder
2,5ml salt
250ml coconut milk
125ml water
62ml sunflower oil
2 eggs

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Add the coconut milk, water, oil and eggs to a large jug and whisk together until the eggs are incorporated.
Turn the mixer on a low speed and slowly drizzle in the liquids.
Keep going until all has been added.
Set the mixer on its highest speed and whisk for 2 minutes.
Take the bowl from the mixer and check whether there are any lumps in the batter.
If there are, set a sieve over a large bowl and pour the batter through.
Cover the batter with a tea towel and set aside for one hour.
Place a crêpe pan on medium-high heat, wait for it to heat up and then add a few drops of oil.
Spoon some batter into the pan and swirl around to evenly distribute and cover the pan surface.
Cook for about 2 minutes, flip over and cook another minute or so.
Serve the crêpes warm with honey and a squeeze of lemon.

3-Ingredient Banana Flapjacks

3-Ingredient Banana Flapjacks

This recipe is for one portion flapjacks = 3-4 average sized flapjacks.

1 very ripe banana, mashed
30ml self-raising flour
1 egg

Add the mashed banana, flour and egg to a small mixing bowl and whisk together with a fork.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add a dash of vegetable oil.
Spoon the batter into the pan, about three flapjacks at a time and cook until tiny bubbles appear.
Flip over and cook for another minute or two.
Serve the flapjacks warm with honey and added fruit.

Salmon Pancakes (Zalm Pannenkoek)

Salmon Pancakes (Zalm Pannenkoek)

Pancakes:
250ml flour
1ml baking powder
2,5ml salt
250ml milk
125ml water
62ml vegetable oil
2 eggs

Filling:
cream cheese
avocado pear, sliced
smoked salmon ribbons/strips
pickled cucumber, cubed
dill
lemon

Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.
Pour the milk, water, oil and eggs into a large jug and whisk together.
Turn the mixer on a low speed and add the egg mixture in a thin stream.
Turn the speed higher once the mixture comes together and keep adding small amounts of liquid until you have a thin, smooth mixture.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for at least one hour.
Heat a non-stick crépe / frying pan over medium-high heat and allow the pan to get hot.
Pour enough batter into the pan to cover the bottom. Swirl the mixture around to coat the pan evenly and bake for one minute per side.
Allow the baked pancakes to cool.

Place a pancake on a serving plate and spread some cream cheese onto it.
Scatter the avocado, salmon, cucumber and dill over and squeeze some lemon over.
Fold the pancake in half and serve with a glass of bubbly.

Korean Pancakes

Korean Pancakes

These pancakes are a delicious snack, light lunch or canapé. The recipe yields two pancakes which is enough for one person or a snack for two sharing. Savoury and crispy has never tasted as good!!

Dipping sauce:
30ml soy sauce
15ml vinegar
5ml honey
5ml sesame oil
2,5ml sesame seeds

Mix all the ingredients together and set aside.

For the pancakes:
250ml zucchini, cut into stick not wider than 4mm (or grated if you do not want to do the cutting!)
190ml flour
30ml cornstarch
1 clove garlic, minced
2,5ml salt
1 egg
190ml ice cold water
about 60ml vegetable oil

Cut the zucchini into sticks no thicker than 4mm.
Mix the flour, cornstarch, salt, garlic and egg together in a mixing bowl.
Drizzle in the water while whisking continuously, to form a smooth batter.
Heat about 30ml of vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
Arrange half the zucchini in the pan and spread it out evenly.
Pour half the batter over the zucchini sticks and leave to cook for 4 minutes.
Flip the pancake and cook for another 3-4 minutes until golden and crispy.
Remove the pancake from the pan, slice into chunks and serve with the dipping sauce.

Flapjacks with Berry Sauce

Flapjacks with Berry Sauce

Makes about 9 flapjacks

For the flapjacks:
62ml sugar
1 egg
125ml milk
15ml butter, melted
250ml flour
10ml baking powder
1ml salt

Add the sugar and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat together until creamy.
Add about half the milk and the melted butter and beat to incorporate.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt and add it to the mixture with the engine running on low.
Gradually drizzle in the rest of the milk so that you are left with a smooth batter.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add a dash of vegetable oil.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter in the pan and fry 1-2 minutes per side.

For the Berry Sauce:
350g frozen berries
62ml sugar
30ml lemon juice

Add the berries, sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan and place it on a low heat.
Stir the mixture every now and then until the berries are defrosted and the sugar dissolved.
Take the saucepan from the heat and blitz the berry mixture with a stick blender until smooth.
Place the saucepan back onto the heat and bring to a simmer.
Turn the heat down to medium and cook the sauce for 4 minutes.
Decant the sauce into a jug and place in the refrigerator until needed.

Serve the warm flapjacks with the cold berry sauce.

Blueberry Crumpets

Blueberry Crumpets

Call them crumpets, flapjacks or pancakes but they are all divine with this fresh blueberry sauce!

For the crumpets:
2 eggs
300ml milk
200g self-raising flour
1,2ml baking powder
a pinch of salt
100g butter, melted and cooled
150g blueberries

For the blueberry sauce:
300g blueberries
the juice of 1 orange
62ml sugar
30ml water

Making the crumpets:
Add the eggs and milk to a mixing bowl and whisk together by hand.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and whisk thoroughly to combine.
Pour the cooled butter into the mixture and add the blueberries.
Gently stir the mixture through so that the blueberries don’t break up as this dilute your batter.
Place a frying pan on medium-high heat and add a small amount of vegetable oil.
Spoon about two large tablespoonfuls of batter per crumpet into the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes until set and starting to bubble around the edges. Flip the crumpet and cook for another 2 minutes or until golden.
Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Keep going until you have used all the batter.

Making the blueberry sauce:
Add the blueberries to a small saucepan and pour in the orange juice, sugar and water.
Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring to dissolve the sugar and cook for about 3 minutes, until the berries release their juice and the liquid becomes syrupy.
Cool the sauce to room temperature.

Serve the warm crumpets with the blueberry sauce and a dollop of yoghurt.

Chocolate Pancakes

Chocolate Pancakes

These pancakes are not cocoa-chocolatey-looking but actually contain real chocolate in the batter!! Whether you serve them with ice-cream, fresh fruit and Chantilly cream or plain, from-the-pan, you will love them! Yields about 12 pancakes depending on the size of your pan.

80g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa
250ml + 100ml milk
90ml caster sugar
200g cake flour
100ml water
3 eggs
2,5ml vanilla
butter for frying

Chop the chocolate into small pieces and add it to a small saucepan.
Pour in 100ml milk and place on a very low heat.
Stir the mixture until the chocolate has melted completely and remove from the heat.
Add the 250ml milk and caster sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Set aside.
Sift the flour into a mixing bowl.
Pour the water, eggs and vanilla into a jug and whisk it together.
Pour the egg mixture into the flour in a very thin stream while whisking. Pour slowly, whisk quickly …. you don’t want lumps in your batter!
Now whisk in the chocolate mixture in the same way.
Cover the batter with a tea towel and allow to stand for one hour.

Heat a frying/crêpe pan until it is very hot.
Add a knob of butter and swirl it around so that it covers the surface of the pan.
Pour in a ladleful of batter and swirl again to evenly distribute in the pan.
Turn the heat down slightly and cook the pancake for 1 minute.
Turn the pancake over with a spatula and cook for another 30 seconds. (The combination of sugar and chocolate burns really easy!!)
Keep going with the rest of the batter until you have a heavily stack of chocolate pancakes.
Serve warm.

Crêpes Suzette

Crêpes Suzette

This is one of my favourite French desserts and really easy to make. Make the crêpes the day before you need them and simply reheat them in the orange-caramel-syrup before serving.

Crêpes:
750ml cake flour
2,5ml baking powder
5ml salt
500ml milk
250ml water
125ml sunflower oil
4 eggs

Orange sauce:
45ml caster sugar
250ml orange juice
the zest of one orange
5ml lemon juice
15ml brandy
50g butter, cubed

For the crêpes:
Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitter with the whisk attachment.
Whisk the milk, water, oil and eggs together in a separate wide-mouthed jug.
Turn the mixer on to a low speed and add the liquid ingredients in a very thin stream. Keep whisking and pouring until all the liquid has been added.
Turn the mixer on to a higher speed and whisk for at least two minutes.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, cover with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 1 hour.
Heat a crêpe pan/frying pan until hot. Add a small amount of vegetable oil and swirl it around the pan. Pour the oil out and put the pan back onto a medium-high heat.
Spoon a ladle-full of the batter into the pan and cook until small holes appear over the entire surface of the crêpe.
Flip the crêpe and cook for 1 minute on the other side.
Slide the cooked crêpe onto a plate and continue baking the rest.

For the orange sauce:
Tip the caster sugar into a non-stick frying pan on medium to low heat.
Allow the sugar to melt without stirring it. You want the sugar to turn a caramel colour without burning it – watch it like a hawk and do not walk away from it!
Take the pan from the heat when the sugar is brown enough and add the orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and brandy.
Return the pan to a very low heat. Do not panic if the sugar has seized, continue heating over a low heat and stir lightly until the sugar has dissolved completely.
Now start adding the butter, one or two cubes at a time while stirring constantly. Keep going until you have incorporated all the butter.
Bring the mixture to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly and has a lovely gloss to it.

Fold each crêpe into half, and then fold it again so that you have a more-or-less triangular shape.
Gently slide the folded crêpe into the pan and spoon the sauce over it.
Serve immediately.