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History of the
pancake
Pancakes (base recipe)
Brittany pancakes
Crêpes Suzettes
Frisian pancakes
Horn of plenty
Horns of pancake with
icecream and fruit
Pancake baskets with red
fruit
Pancakes with raspberries
Pancakes with Grand Marnier
Limburgian pancakes
History of the
pancake
Already in prehistoric days, grinded rye, wheat,
millet or buckwheat was mixed into a porridge. After baking this
porridge on hot stones, the flat bread-like result could be eaten. It
became obvious pretty soon that these breads could be kept for a long
period of time if they were baked very thin and were dried afterwards
on sticks. Nowadays, these round flat breads can be bought in Norway,
Sweden and Finland as "knäckebröd". But people also realised that
adding eggs to the porridge, improved the taste. When eaten fresh and
warm, right from the hot stones or the iron baking sheet, the pan, they
tasted delicious. These were the first pancakes.
Wether they were called pancakes or egg-cakes
isn't quite clear. This depended on the area where they were baked and
the composition of the batter. The batter is always made from flour,
eggs and a liquid like milk or water. Depending the actual recipe,
salt, sugar and other flavours are added.
In Germany, egg-cakes or pancakes are very
populair amongst children and adults. This isn't different in other
countries. In England, they are a traditional treat on the Tuesday of
Carnival. It is said that this is because of the Lent, when eggs, nor
milk could be used. Pancakes were made from the left-overs and where
baked in a lot of fat.
In the Netherlands we know the thin pancakes
("flensjes") and the more rich pancakes, but also the buttered and
sugared tiny pancakes ("poffertjes"). The French know the "galettes"
and the "crêpes". Nobody knows why the people from Brittany call their
pancakes "galettes", why in the rest of France they are called
"crêpes". But everybody that spend a day in Brittany or Narbonne knows
that they are big, thin and extraordinary tasteful. The spanish are
more sober. They often mix the batter with baked potatoes, onios and
garlic. These tortilla's are very nutricious and even cold very nice to
eat.
In Sweden, pancakes are baked in special pans whit
small egg-size hollows in it. They are baked on traditional events. The
traditional side-dishes are apple-sauce and a compote of berries.
Hungary knows its "palacinken". They are smaller and thinner than the
German pancakes and they are often filled with curds, a sauce made of
nuts or hot chocolate. Russia knows the "blini". These are round
cookies with the size of a saucer. They are made from buckwheat and are
served with caviar and sour cream.
Pancakes
(base recipe)
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
Put the flour in a bowl and mix it together with the milk to a smooth
batter. Stir the eggs one by one through the batter, followed by the
butter, salt and sugar. Heat-up some butter in a frying-pan and pour
some batter in the frying-pan, until the entire bottom of the pan is
covered with a thin layer of batter. Turn the pancake when the top is
dry. Bake the other side to a light brown shade. Eat the pancake with
syrup, honey, jam or sugar.
Brittany
pancakes
250 gr. wheatflour
3 eggs
salt
2 tablespoons of vanillasugar
0.35 l. milk
40 gr. molten butter
5 apples
powdersugar
calvados
Put the flour in a bowl and mix it together with the milk to a smooth
batter. Stir the eggs one by one through the batter, followed by the
butter, salt and vanillasugar. Cover the batter with a cloth and leave
it for 30 minutes. Peel the apples, remove the core and cut the apples
into thin slices. Add the apple slices to the batter. Heat-up some
butter in a frying-pan and pour some batter in the frying-pan, until
the entire bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of batter.
Turn the pancake when the top is dry. Bake the other side to a light
brown shade. Put two pancakes on a plate and put powdersugar on them.
Sprinkle them with calvados and flambé them while serving.
Crêpes
Suzette
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1/2 orange
1/2 lemon
4 tablespoons of sugar
8 tablespoons cointreau
Prepare the batter according the base recipe. Sqeeuze the orange and
the lemon and put the juice into a bowl. Add the sugar to the juice and
heat up the mixture. Heat-up some butter in a frying-pan and pour some
batter in the frying-pan, until the entire bottom of the pan is covered
with a thin layer of batter. Turn the pancake when the top is dry. Bake
the other side to a light brown shade. Pull the pancakes through the
juice and fold them into four parts. Serve two pancakes on a single
plate. Mix the remaining juice and the cointreau and sprinkle this over
the pancakes.
Frisian
pancakes
300 gr. flour
salt
0.5 l. milk
15 gr. yeast
butter
sugar
Heat up the milk and dissolve the yeast. Mix the flour and the yeast to
a smooth batter. Leave the batter on a warm spot for an hour under a
damp cloth. Heat-up some butter in a frying-pan and pour some batter in
the frying-pan, until the entire bottom of the pan is covered with a
thin layer of batter. Turn the pancake when the top is dry. Bake the
other side to a light brown shade. Serve the pancakes with butter and
sugar.
Horn of
plenty
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teablespoon of acacia honey
250 gr. forrest fruits
powdersugar
Prepare the batter according the base recipe and bake them into not too
large pancakes. Roll each pancake into the shape of a horn and fill
them with some of the fruit. Put powdersugar on the plate and put one
filled horn on each plate. Garnish the horns with the remaining fruit
and pour a bit of heony on each horn.
Horns of
pancake with icecream and fruit
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 large tin of apricots
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 small pineapple
200 gr. vanilla icecream
Prepare the batter according the base recipe, bake them into not too
large pancakes and keep them warm in an oven. Cut the apricots in small
pieces and mash half of it. Add lemon juice and sugar. Cut the
pineapple into thin slices and put the mashed and cut apricots and the
pineapple on the plates. Roll each pancake into the shape of a horn and
put some vanille icecream in each horn. Put the pancakes on a plate and
serve them immediately.
Pancake
baskets with red fruit
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
6 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
200 gr. curds
200 gr. raspberries
200 gr. bilberries
100 gr. forrest strawberries
100 gr. red currants
4 tablespoons of cointreau
powdersugar
Prepare the batter according the base recipe and bake them into not too
large pancakes. Take 6 small cups and add some butter in them. Put a
pancake on each cup and push it into the cup without tearing it. Put
the cups for 20 - 30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees. mix
three tablespoons of sugar with the lemon juice and the curds and put
it in the fridge. Mash half of the raspberries and mix them with the
cointreau. Distribute the mixture over 6 plates. Take the pancake
baskets out of the cups and put one on each plate. Fill the baskets
with the curds mixture and decorate them with the remaining fruits. Add
powdersugar and serve.
Pancakes
with raspberries
500 gr. flour
1 l. milk
3 - 4 eggs
150 gr. molten butter (or oil)
salt
1 teaspoon of sugar
300 gr. raspberries
300 gr. curds
30 gr. sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
2 tablespoons of powdersugar
Prepare the batter according the base recipe, bake them into not too
large pancakes and keep them warm in an oven. Mash half of the
raspberries and mix them with the curds, the sugar and the lemon juice.
Put some powdersugar on the plates and spread the
curds-rapsberry-mixture on the pancakes. Fold the pancakes into four
parts and decorate them with the remaining raspberries.
Pancakes
with Grand Marnier
250 gr. wheatflour
4 eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar
salt
0.5 l. milk
120 gr molten butter
Grand Marnier
Mix the wheatflour, the eggs, the salt, one tablespoon of sugar and the
milk to a smooth batter. Add the butter and mix everything again. Cover
the batter with a cloth and leave it for 30 minutes. Heat-up some
butter in a frying-pan and pour some batter in the frying-pan, until
the entire bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of batter.
Turn the pancake when the top is dry. Bake the other side to a light
brown shade. Put a pancake on a plate and add a tablespoon of sugar en
a tablespoon of Grand Marnier. Fold the pancake and serve it.
Limburgian
pancakes
250 gr. wheatflour
4 eggs
0.6 l. milk
60 gr. molten butter
salt
8 tablespoons of sugar
0,2 l. brandy or "heidebitter"
8 tablespoons of butter
Mix the wheatflour, the eggs, milk, butter, two tablespoons of sugar
and 35 cc brandy or "heidebitter" to a smooth batter. Cover the batter
with a cloth and leave it for 30 minutes. Heat-up some butter in a
frying-pan and pour some batter in the frying-pan, until the entire
bottom of the pan is covered with a thin layer of batter. Turn the
pancake when the top is dry. Bake the other side to a light brown
shade. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a pan and add two tablespoons of
sugar. Caramelize this slightly. Serve one pancake on a plate and
decorate it with two tablespoons of the caramelised sugar. Add a bit of
brandy or "heidebitter" to it and flambé them while serving.
Last update: 31 December 2007
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