Untitled
Thought I'd start a thread for breakfast recipes with this one exclusively on my mind. I'm a sucker for food shows and I saw these on one of those nameless celebrity chef shows. It was about the pancakes at the Clinton Street Bakery which I guess is quite well known in New York. I have to say that these are pretty amazing, but take a bit more work that the usual recipes or going straight from the box of the premixed stuff. But if you have the time, they are more than worth it. I just did them plain without the blueberries and wow! Best pancake I've ever made.
Clinton Street Baking Company's Famous Blueberry Pancakes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Yield: 18 to 20 3-inch pancakes
Ingredients:
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder, plus 1 teaspoon
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs, separated
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¾ cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 teaspoons unmelted for the griddle
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting
- Maple Butter
Preparation:
- Measure and sift all the dry ingredients into a large (preferably stainless-steel) mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The result should be slightly lumpy, yet combined to form a batter.
- Whip the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl until they reach medium peaks (soft in the middle). You can either whip them by hand with a whisk, or put them in the bowl of an electric mixer to whip. Be careful, you don’t want to overwhip the egg whites.
- Gently mix half of the whipped whites into the batter with a large rubber spatula. Then gently fold the remaining half into the batter. Remember: this batter should be slightly lumpy and have large parts of egg whites not fully incorporated; it should look like whitecaps in the ocean with foam on top. (The batter will last a few hours in the fridge without deflating too much.)
- Heat a griddle — either an electric griddle, a stovetop griddle, or a big flat pan — to 350 to 375°F. Grease the hot griddle with the remaining butter. Drop cup (approximately 4 tablespoons) of pancake batter on the griddle and cook to set. Add 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add the fruit to the mix; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle. When you see bubbles start to form on top, lift the pancake halfway up to see if it’s golden brown and crispy on the edges. If ready, flip the pancake.
- When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, cooking several pancakes at a time. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar for the blueberry pancakes, cinnamon sugar for the banana-walnut. Serve warm with Maple Butter.
Common Mistake
Many cooks don’t heat the griddle enough, which is why the first pancake is usually a dud. Make sure it’s very hot, then put the butter on. A teaspoon or tablespoon is fine. Use just enough so that the pancake doesn’t stick.
Note
To ensure that the whites whip up to maximum height, clean and dry all of your utensils. Also, when separating, be careful not to get any yolk into the whites.
Note About Peaks
Peaks are “soft” when you put your finger in the whites and they fall over. Peaks are “medium” when you put your finger in and they drip over a bit and stand up. “Stiff” peaks develop when you whip the whites longer and they stay up.