I like pancakes sweet. Crêpes I can enjoy both sweet and savoury, but pancakes I will always love as a dessert or a sweet breakfast item. It really isn't a secret how much I love sweet dough desserts, and pancakes are especially dear to me because they can be prepared quickly, and do not require many ingredients or a lengthy preparation process.
One of the most important things when it comes to making pancakes is not to let them cook for too long. When I first started making pancakes, I used to overcook them. Lack of experience, of course, but it produced nicely caramelised edges, so it was not all bad.
For a pancake to be nice and fluffy, it should be cooked briefly on a well-heated pan or a griddle, and on medium heat. High heat or a pan that does not conduct it well will scorch the pancakes and ruin both the flavour and the texture.
Once you see bubbles form on the surface of the pancake, it is very close to being done on one side. As soon as they burst, flip it. After that, just a mere minute will be plenty for it to be cooked through, soft, and delicious.
Simply because I love a burst of tangy flavour from berries, I usually serve pancakes with fresh berries, frozen berries, if they are not in season, or even a berry coulis or vegan lemon curd. However, they are equally delicious with some whipped cream, chocolate shavings, or even homemade jam and toasted walnuts. And for a very special touch, serve them with melted dark chocolate and orange segments.
Ingredients
180 grams plain flour
50 grams light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
small pinch of baking soda
small pinch of salt
240 millilitres soy milk
120 millilitres lukewarm water
25 millilitres vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Preparation
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add in the sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, and whisk very well. If necessary, sift everything again, to make them light and airy. Pour in the milk, water, oil, and the vanilla, and whisk until combined. If there are a few lumps of flour, it is fine, it is better to leave them to dissolve than to overmix the batter.
Place a large, non-stick pancake pan over medium-high heat, and let it heat up. Scoop the batter with a small ladle (80 millilitres), add it to the pan, letting it naturally spread out. Cook each pancake for about 2 minutes on one side, or until bubbles form on the surface.
As soon as the bubbles burst, gently turn over the pancake and cook for about another minute or so, until the other side is nicely cooked. Serve immediately, with assorted berries or some melted chocolate. Yields 8 large pancakes.
