Pancake up your life! (unsponsored post)

So shortly after my pancake series, our favourite German supermarket is bringing us today, amongst other fab’ kitchen articles at bargain prices (that little toaster oven… for my husbands nightly cheese toasts.. maybe.) three more or less ingenious devices to make you a pancake goddess:

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can assure you, it’s purely coincidental (hey, not that I wouldn’t mind them as a sponsor, they get enough money from me already) and while for under 30 AU$ you can feel like a real French Crêpière, and for under 20$ your pancakes will be perfectly shaped (who would even want that ?), I still recommend the simple pan (for under 7 $ …) because in the end, some awesome kitchen appliances will only sit in the cupboard as they are too difficult to clean, too bulky to move around, and since you don’t use them all the time, hidden somewhere in the back. And don’t tell me you don’t have one like that.
So while I am very tempted by the chic crêpe maker, I am not getting it today.
I’ll get me the cheap pan, and I’ll enjoy making pancakes with little hassle.
And I will look guilty to the top of our kitchen cupboard where that cute little black (!)  deep fryer sits sadly. As it has never been used. Not once. Meh.

What’s your failed investment into kitchen godessness? Or else what should I buy that would really make my life easier and my family look as if they’d come right out of a TV commercial ?

My Pancake Time Machine Posts  – 3 Australia  2France  1Germany

Pancake Time Machine – Part 3 Australia

I am finally coming back to my (moderately ambitious) mini series with posts about pancakes. The post was ready for a while, but the floods in Queensland, Cyclone Yasi and last but not least a certain lack of focus and organisation caused this delay, well never mind.

What better day than to post about pancakes on World Nutella Day ?

Yes, indeed. As already announced on my sidebar for a while, today is the day we celebrate the big brown jar of plenty!

(Thanks for the reminder, too, through a post on wordpress’ Freshly Pressed)

After my childhood in Germany, with my mother’s pancakes right out of a cement mixer (or so it seemed, but they were still yummy) and after studying crepe-making for many years in France, what kind of pancakes do I make now, for my own family, here in Australia..?

Well, today, my pancakes are based on a very simple recipe, with basic ingredients,  easy to remember, easy to make,  it’s really a bit like
pancakes for dummies :
2 cups of milk, 2 eggs,
2 cups of self-raising flour,
brown sugar – probably half a cup, maybe more.
I use butter to grease the pan, and may add cream if I have any. Yeah, now I believe that if you count calories when you are preparing a treat, you might as well let it be. (Obviously, that’s why they are ‘Sometimes Food’ only !)
I always add some ‘All Spice’ or Cinnamon and/or vanilla essence.
I like ‘em small, thick and rich ! :

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pancakes can go in the toaster the next morning (or for a snack at night..) with no risk to slip away and cause a fuse to blow (there has been some research into this..). I mostly just sprinkle powder sugar on top since there is already spices inside, but obviously, if you’re into acorn syrup, knock yourself out (but invest in the real, pure syrups).

Now to close the loop, my pancakes also taste awesome with Nutella.
I make a point of NOT always having a jar at home…
because otherwise I’d pretty much just do what this squirrel does :

So, have some pancakes soon and Happy Nutella Day to all of you ! 

PS : And for the LOLZ, here a link to an article about a US mum who is sueing the makers of Nutella, because it is not – shock, terror – actually as ‘healthy and nutritious’ as the advertising led her to believe. Oh dear !

The Pancake Time Machine :
Part 1 – Eierkuchen : my childhood’s pancakes in Germany
Part 2 - Young and chic with crepes in France

Pancake Time Machine – Part 1

Today we made pancakes, and it occurred to me that I have been pan-caking a bit differently in every country I have lived so far. I am now very happy with my country of residence and also with my pancake recipe, but let’s have a look back with the pancake time machine :

Eierkuchen – My Childhood pancakes in Germany

Pancakes have many names and variations in Germany. In our family they were called Eierkuchen (literally ‘egg cakes’) because in Berlin we stubbornly call the “Berlin Donut” Pfannkuchen (pancakes) to the confusion of anyone who visits from the rest of Germany and calls them “Berliner” and well, pancakes simply pancakes..
Either way, the basic German recipe is indeed high on eggs and has less liquid and flour. The result is a rather dense dough that bakes to a somewhat elastic, rather filling cake. Eierkuchen also often have dark brown, even black patterns, this isn’t considered to be burnt, it’s their actual “look”.

My mother’s recipe went probably something like this :
50 g melted Butter,
100 g  sugar,
4 eggs ,
200 ml milk,
- beat until foamy and add 200 g flour.
Beat again. Fry!
Optional : Throw and tumble pancakes with verve to amuse the children, send them off to eat the first round in the dining room, then answer the phone in the corridor …and forget about the last pancake that turns into charcoal in the kitchen. Easy!

As toppings we usually had lots of sugar or strawberry jam, sometimes Nutella. My mother’s only variation, the simple apple pancake (acid type apple wedges thrown on the top of the pancake) was not popular with us then – not sweet enough!  My brother also liked the dark and strong sugar beet syrup, (must really try and get that here somehow). We loved mum’s pancakes, they averaged maybe 20cm in diameter, were 0.5 to a whole centimeter thick and after a single one, you generally felt like the only way to move was to go rolling around..  they were very filling indeed!

Daddy Pig is obviously "a bit of an expert" in pancake tumbling.

To be fair, many German recipes aim for a lighter dough, as a teenager I found out that other families actually added a teaspoon of baking powder or – kinky!- sparkly mineral water or even beer to make the cakes a bit fluffier.
Today, thin and light French Crêpes and smaller, American style pancakes are very popular, too, including the runny acorn syrup (hopefully imported from Canada to be the real deal). Anything goes as long as it isn’t exclusively eaten during the morning hours of a certain fast food restoration chain (or two). Making pancakes is soo much fun:

(The photo links to one of our favourite PeppaPig episodes – Pancakes!)

Links :
wiki on pancakes and variations around the world
Peppa Pig – Pancakes – on youtube

Tomorrow : Young and chic  with Crêpes in France

Perfectly imperfect moments of our life…

We made thick apple pancakes again today and my little masterchef had a great time ‘helping’ and watching me fry them. I always try to flip at least one with verve and although it’s never high enough for him, we have a lot of fun.
They are yummy too   I’ll clean up tomorrow.

I am inviting myself to a meme started by Kate from the Picklebums.
See hopefully many other perfectly imperfect moments on her blog HERE :