STICKY TOFFEE PANCAKES
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A BUBBLY SYMPHONY OF BUTTER AND CREAM, SUGAR AND HONEY, A PINCH OF SEA SALT AND BRANDY HERE AND THERE, AND THAT LAST TOUCH OF VANILLA
I’m quickly leaving you the last post before we take a short trip to Hong Kong and Seoul next week. It’s been… well… 2 years since the last time me and Jason traveled together. What used to be frequent occurrences and a huge part of of our lives, now feels a bit unfamiliar and exciting again, well, tinted with a bit of sadness at the same time.
So with all the packing, cleaning out the fridge, packing again and feeling a bit empty now that we have minus-two dogs to say good-bye to, I’m gonna leave you alone with these pancakes that I’ve lately, grown quite fond with. As I previously declared, I’m not a pancake person. Still not actually. But what I like about these pancakes, aside from the fact that they taste, preferably, like the lighter version of the often-times unbearably sweet sticky toffee puddings, is their relatively loftier heights that bring more tasty contrast to the fluffy interiors and the crispy edges. The pancakes use, more or less, the chiffon cake-technique by folding beaten egg white into the the batter to pump up its airiness. Then I cook them with a lid on, which speeds up the cooking time, and from what I felt, retains the height of the pancakes better. You could add chopped dates to the party as the tradition, but I kept them lazy, only mimicking the flavours by adding molasses, grated ginger, ground cinnamon and allspice. After all, the highlight of sweetness should only come from the thick and glistening syrup, a bubbly symphony of butter and cream, dark brown sugar and honey, a pinch of sea salt and brandy here and there, and that last touch of vanilla.
So here we go, to mark to the end, and the beginning, and then the repeating of it all that is change and life. I’ll see you again, on the other side.
Gold brass spoon made by the amazing Ann Ladson. Yellow mixing bowl from Dishes Only.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (93 grams) dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (169 grams) honey
- 1/4 cup (56 grams) heavy cream
- 3 tbsp (42 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 tsp brandy
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg white + 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 cup (230 grams) whole milk
- 2 tbsp (42 grams) molasses
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1/2 tsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp (27 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 1/4 cup (168 grams) preferably cake flour, but all-purpose flour is fine
- 1 tbsp (12 grams) light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground allspice
- Canola oil and unsalted butter for cooking
Instructions
- TO MAKE THE TOFFEE SAUCE: Combine dark brown sugar, honey, heavy cream, unsalted butter, brandy and sea salt in a small pot and set over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 3~4 min, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, set aside.
- TO MAKE THE PANCAKE: In a clean bowl with handheld-mixer, whisk together egg white and cream of tartar on high speed until stiff peak forms. It should look like at least tripled in volume. Set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together whole milk, molasses, egg yolk and grated ginger until even. Sift flour, light brown sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon and allspice right into the wet ingredient. Then add the melted butter and stir everything together with a fork just until it comes into a thick batter. Fold the beated egg white into the batter with a spatula in 3 additions, just until even. Try not to overwork the batter too much.
- With a flat non-stick skillet with lid, heat 1 tbsp of canola oil and 1 tbsp of unsalted butter over medium heat. Once the butter starts to bubble, spoon the batter onto the skillet. Put the lid on now and turn the heat down to medium-low, and cook for 2-plus min, until the first side of the pancake is golden browned. The steam inside the skillet will help cook the pancakes faster, and I find that it better retains the height of the pancakes as well. Now remove the lid and flip the pancake over. Turn the heat back to medium and cook until the second side is golden browned as well (without lid). Repeat until all the batter is used, and add more canola oil and unsalted butter as you go.
- Reheat the toffee sauce to loosen the consistency if needed, and serve immediately with pancakes.
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Jessica
October 17, 2015 at 6:46 PMhave a wonderful time traveling!! the tip about cooking with lid on is great, i’ll have to try that.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
October 18, 2015 at 3:23 AMWishing you well on your big trip!! Sounds like it’s going to be a blast! And I am all over this last recipe before you leave. The sticky toffee idea is awesome.
maya
October 18, 2015 at 4:16 PMthis looks awesome, and hey! after buying a waffle iron thanks to your malted-waffle-madness, i think i might even try to wafflize it!
PS if for some god-forsaken reason you get stranded at the HK airport, i highly recommend a movie at the IMAX theater (terminal 2, 6th floor. they have both sweet and savory popcorn. eek!)
mandy@ladyandpups
October 19, 2015 at 1:59 AMMaya, hahahaha ironically there’s a high chance for being stranded in HK airport if you’re flying to China. I will totally keep that in mind. Great tip! And yes, I think waffling it would totally work, too :)
Claudia | The Brick Kitchen
October 19, 2015 at 1:12 PMAbsolutely stunning photos and love the sound of all the flavours you have going on here – sticky date pudding is one of my favourite desserts, so it in a lighter, fluffier pancake form is something I need to try asap! I do find that all my favourite pancake recipes have the egg white beaten separately and folded in – much less stodgy. Great tip of cooking with the lid on too, will definitely be trying that! Have an amazing trip :)
Beenish
October 20, 2015 at 5:01 AMHave fun travelling. All the photos are amazing but the one where you pour the sauce, stunning. Thank you for sharing your recipe. :)
todd wagner
October 21, 2015 at 8:43 AMWords cannot describe how badly I want these tomorrow for breakfast…
Rail Rider
October 21, 2015 at 6:40 PMIt looks very crispy. Are you providing any online food delivery services, by which I can taste it!!
Natasha @ Salt and Lavender
October 23, 2015 at 11:16 PMWow these look so indulgent! Ahhhhh I want!! Pinned!
Ursula @ LilVienna.com
October 28, 2015 at 1:33 AMI am definitely a pancake person ;-))) Simply love them. I also sometimes fold in beaten egg whites for a more fluffy texture but most of the times, I am too lazy for that (another bowl to clean….). Have to try your toffee sauce – it sounds delicious, looks delicious and I have all ingredients (minus the brandy, which I will skip) on hand. Thanks Mandy.
Kate
October 29, 2015 at 5:38 AMI’m quite intrigued by the lid thing. Having two kids means I’m a frequent pancake maker so I’ll give it a try next time around. Hope you had a great trip!
Andy
October 30, 2015 at 12:36 AMHey Mandy, you blog is amazing, the few things I’ve made from your site were awesome. I do food photography as well (not as good as yours,lol) and I was wondering what type of light you use. I have only shot with natural light, but I love the contrast you create in your photos with the black background and artificial light it really makes the food come alive. I’d like to invest in a light. Also what do you use to create that deep black background? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks!
mandy@ladyandpups
October 30, 2015 at 1:40 PMAndy, in this particular post, I believe I was shooting under natural light. But I do mostly use artificial light. I would first try my hands on soft light-box that is generally cheap. It usually uses 4 to 5 large neutral light bulbs, and you’ll probably need 2 to create enough lighting. The black background is simply a piece of black fabric. I hope this helps :)
Andy
October 31, 2015 at 1:32 PMThanks so much for the insight, it helps alot, I appreciate it!
Christine @ Cooking with Cakes
October 30, 2015 at 1:46 AMthe pancakes alone look like the fluffiest, most bad-ass pancakes EVER, but that sticky toffee on top? SWOON. just give me a spoon man, that’s alllll I need.
Liz
November 15, 2015 at 1:35 AMThe pancakes are definitely tomorrow’s breakfast. Where did the fork came from? So unique!
Nicola @ Pink Recipe Box
January 7, 2016 at 11:18 PMCommon sense is telling me these are more dessert pancakes than they are breakfast pancakes…but I’m still totally going to be making them this Saturday morning! And I’ll definitely be sharing this with my followers via social media :)
Kimberley
July 29, 2016 at 11:29 AMWhere did you get that beautiful fork?
Train Info
August 29, 2017 at 11:15 PMI cannot describe how badly I want these tomorrow for breakfast…
Indianwish
January 19, 2018 at 4:40 PMwow superb dear,I like it.
Ammy
January 27, 2018 at 6:47 PMReally cute.
Ritesh Kumar
July 14, 2018 at 7:10 PMwow awesome post,Very good