Saturday Mornings

These are by far our favourite pancakes. More of a crepe than pancake, really. Not the big fluffy cake-like pancakes. My kids love to roll these up after filling them with Nutella, peanut butter and jam or just simply rolled and dipped in maple syrup. Dipping the pancake into syrup is also preferred in our house. I’m not sure why but I happen to agree. I seem to be making these pancakes more frequently lately. Perhaps it’s because every morning, these days, feels like a Saturday. Not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Probably a good thing if you love pancakes.

As of late, I have been really keen on making a blueberry syrup. While we love maple syrup it seems time to mix it up a bit around here. Partly because, my kids don’t like blueberries in their pancakes and I think pancakes taste so great with warmed blueberries. There’s this wonderful marriage between pancakes and blueberries – who agrees? This syrup is so tasty. Stating the obvious here but in addition to the blueberry flavour the sweetness and hint of lemon make it extra special. Here’s the truth. My kids didn’t go for it but Mario and I did. We loved it. So much so, that I served it on my charcuterie board. It pairs so nicely with brie too!

Pancakes and syrup – such a sweet treat and happy way to start the day (I still stick with my coffee shake – recipe here if interested!) There’s something so simple about making pancakes in the morning for my kids and having the time to do so is a treat in of itself, for me.

Family Favourite Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup

Pancake Ingredients:

Source: Martha Stewart; Martha Steward Living 2002 Annual Recipes Cookbook

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

3 tablespoons sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups nonfat buttermilk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Add eggs, buttermilk and 4 tablespoons melted butter to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
3. The batter will have some small lumps.
4. Heat a non-stick skillet with butter on medium heat.
5. Ladle the batter on the skillet. When the batter bubbles on the top and dry on the edges, flip over. Cook until light golden brown, about 1 minute more. Repeat with remaining batter.
6. Serve warm

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

Source: Food & Wine (the recipe below is half of the original recipe)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups blueberries

2 cups water

1 cup sugar

3 1-inch strips of lemon zest (using a vegetable peeler)

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. In a pot, combine the blueberries with 1/2 cup of the water. Crush the berries with a potato masher and bring to a simmer.
2. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes. Strain the juice into a heatproof measuring cup, pressing hard on the solids. Discard the solids.
3. Rinse out the pot. Add the sugar, lemon zest and the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Boil the syrup over moderate heat until it registers 225° on a candy thermometer, about 20 minutes.
4. Add the blueberry juice and lemon juice and boil over high heat for 1 minute.
5. Let the syrup cool, then discard the lemon zest.
6. Pour the syrup into just-cleaned bottles. Seal and refrigerate for up to 6 months.