If there is one thing that I personally would call my signature dish, funnily I would say it’s pancakes – although I haven’t actually made any since the recipe testing for my book (for some reason a total of three different pancake recipes made it into the book, you can buy it here). Hence, last week I was thinking of what my final food post for 2016 on the blog should be, and the decision was made within seconds: Pancakes it’s got to be!
These ones have an interesting twist (unless you usually add cardamom to the batter, uhm, I don’t), and they’re fluffy as pancakes should be thanks to a stiff egg white and a decent dash of buttermilk. The compote is a perfect mixture of sour cranberries and sweet orange juice, and as vanilla is not only my favorite spice ever, but also very christmassy, I’ve cooked the compote with both the pulp and pod. Personally, I’d say pancakes can not get any better – unless you’re enjoying them in bed.
Happy holidays, dear everyone!
Love,
Lea Lou
Cardamom spelt pancakes with orange cranberry compote
For two servings.
For the compote:
1 orange
80 grams cranberries
100 millilitres orange juice (freshly squeezed)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 vanilla bean, pulp and bean
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
For the pancakes:
50 grams wholemeal spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon (15 grams) oats
25 grams whole almonds, roughly chopped
4 cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed
1 egg, organic preferably
100 millilitres buttermilk
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Butter or coconut oil, for frying
To serve (optional):
Maple syrup
A dollop of Greek yogurt
Method:
Peel the orange and remove the filets from the skin. Rinse and drain the cranberries. Place orange filets, cranberries, orange juice, maple syrup and the vanilla pulp and pod in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer the compote for five minutes.
Remove two tablespoons of the liquid and, in a small bowl, mix it with the cornstarch. Stir the cornstarch into the compote and allow to thicken for 30 seconds, simmering. Allow the compote to cool slightly before serving.
For the batter, mix the spelt flour with the baking powder, oats, almonds and crushed cardamom seeds.
In a jar, whisk the egg yolk with the buttermilk and maple syrup. Stir in the flour mixture and quickly combine all ingredients.
In a second jar, whisk the egg white until stiff. Carefully fold it into the batter.
Heat a teaspoon of coconut oil in a large pan, add a scoop of batter (or two, or three, depending on the size of the pan) and bake the pancakes for two minutes or so from one side, then carefully flip them and bake from the other side until done.
Arrange the pancakes in a pile on a plate and keep them warm in the oven at 50°C until all pancakes are baked.
Serve the pancakes with the orange cranberry compote, a dash of maple syrup and a dollop of Greek yogurt if desired. Enjoy!
