I have a love hate relationship with apples. I mean I love apple pie and apple turnover and apple cakes and stuff, but biting into an apple as a snack or so is not preferred. That said, if I'm given a slice or two, I'd eat it without complaint. Ro has taken a liking towards apples (????!!!) and we now have apples lying around all the time. He will soon get over it, I know! ...its like his pear phase, or green tea phase. But till then, I have to play along.
I guess a whole lot of you know about Shrove Tuesday or Pancake day as its more commonly referred to as? It was on the 12th of Feb and I was sent the OXO pancake kit to review. Due to busy schedules, I could not post it on the day or after the day or even a week after, but finally got around to doing it today. Almost a month later, but better late than never right?
Anyways, talking about OXO. Its one of my favourite brands and I have quite a few OXO products in my kitchen. The pancake kit which comprises of a batter bowl, whisk and pancake turner is a welcome addition to my already existing collection. I have had terrible luck with whisks, it breaks on me or is too flimsy to do its job properly and just when I was ready to give up, the OXO Good Grips Balloon Whisk makes its appearance. Its so sturdy that I can whisk the hell out of a batter or sauce and it doesn't give up. Heck, I even whisked cream to stiff peaks using the whisk. The silicone flexible pancake turner is another fabulous piece. The size makes flipping pancakes a treat and since I don't make pancakes that often, I have been using it for omelettes and rotis and anything that needs to be flipped (pun intended). The batter bowl looks different from all the mixing bowls I own, and has a handle which I thought was a fabulous addition. Its so much more easy to handle a bowl when you can hold it properly, trust me! It has a beak which makes pouring out batter easy as well. Although I must admit, I tried to pour out the pancake batter on to the pan and it was a bit of a disaster. But that could also be because I am, in general, clumsy.
I decided to put the pancake kit to full use by making apple pie pancakes. Its a wee bit time consuming, especially if you don't have apple sauce ready but it tastes fab nonetheless. I doubt this would make it to a breakfast table, but certainly for brunch if you ask me. The apple sauce makes the pancakes super moist and well, apple-like and the cinnamon is what takes it to a whole different level. Try these for your next brunch session and your husband, kids, boyfriend, parents... would thank you :)
Recipe adapted from here (serves 2 to 3)
Plain flour- 2 cups
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder- 2 tsp
Grated nutmeg- 1/4 tsp
Buttermilk- 2 cups
Apple sauce- 1/4 cup (recipe follows)
Eggs- 2, medium
Milk- 1/4 cup (give or take a tsp or so)
Apple sauce (recipe adapted from here)
Apples- 2 medium, peeled, cored and cut into cubes
Cinnamon- 1/4 tsp (optional)
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Brown sugar- 1 tbsp
Water- 2 to 3 tbsp
Topping
Apples- 2 small, peeled, cored and sliced into thin wedges
Brown sugar- 1 tbsp
Butter- 1/2 tbsp
Maple syrup- to drizzle
In a sauce pan mix together all the ingredients for the apple sauce.
Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 to 12 minutes, or till the apples become soft and of mashable consistency.
Keep aside to cool a bit and then blend to a purée using an immersion blender or food processor.
For the topping, melt the butter and sugar in a sauce pan.
Add the apples to the mix and toss around, making sure its all well coated.
Cook till you see bubbles around the edges.
Don't over cook the apples, they should still be a bit crunchy.
When done, take off heat and keep aside.
In another bowl mix the buttermilk, apple sauce and eggs till just combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk till the batter comes together. Make sure there are no lumps of flour. It wont be a smooth batter, though.
Add milk bit by bit just until you get that pourable consistency, making sure you don't over whisk the batter.
Heat a frying pan and when hot pour a ladle full of batter on to the pan.
Wait for small bubbles to appear on top and when they just start popping (in around 2 to 3 mins), you are ready to flip.
Cook for a further 2 minutes or so and then take it off the heat.
Continue till all of the batter is used up.
If you are not having them immediately, don't stack them up, instead, place them side by side on baking paper.
When ready to serve, gently warm them up in a preheated oven (at 90C) for around 15 to 20 minutes.
To assemble, stack two to three pancakes on top of each other and add a layer of the apple topping and a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
Continue till your pancakes are all used up, but make sure the top most layer is apple.
Give a dusting of powdered sugar or even cinnamon and you are good to go.
Notes: You can also use a potato masher to mash the apple sauce, but i feel small chunks would remain, which of course is not an issue.
Add chunks of apples to the batter if you prefer that instead of the apple sauce.
I love cinnamon, but if its not your thing then reduce the quantity used.
You can do the same with any firm fruit of choice- nectarines, pears, apricots etc.
With thanks to OXO for sending me the pancake kit to review.
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