The pancakes eaten today come from an ancient pancake recipe used by the Romans. In any Roman home you could find a flat bread made of some flour, milk and eggs with some spices or honey that was called Alita Dolcia. They topped them with fruits but there were also some that were filled with meats and cheese. The pancake that is more similar to the one we have today was first made during the medieval times in Europe. The first printed recipe was found in 1430 in an early cook book in England.
Breakfast is the best time to serve pancakes. Pancakes are the star of the show on Shrove Tuesday. This is the day right before Lent starts when one is allowed to eat those things thought of being a luxury, as pancakes are. The next day starts lent when one should sacrifice and often people give up sweet things during the period of lent to Easter.
The German people have a pancake recipe that incorporates potatoes in as do the Jews who make latke from potatoes. Crepes are a type of pancake but are very thin and are usually topped with fruits and rolled over in half. In Indonesia they make dadar gutung, from India comes the poori, and in China families enjoy bao bing. Panekoeken, pancakes made from buckwheat, are made by the Dutch. Recipes for pancakes that puff up very high and are enhanced by fruit and sprinkled with powdered sugar, are plentiful and delicious.
Americans are quite fond of pancakes and they are usually found on every breakfast menu. The following is an old recipe that does not fade with age. It is light and sweet and once you pour the syrup on it can’t be beat for lunch or breakfast. You can even serve this old fashion variety with sausage for dinner and make your family happy. In a large bowl sift 1 and one half cup of flour, 3 and one half teaspoons of baking powder, half a teaspoon of salt, and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Mix well and pull the ingredients away from the center leaving a hole in the middle of the bottom of the bowl. Into this hole you will place 1 and one fourth cup of milk and one egg. In a pan melt 3 tablespoons butter and add it to the liquid ingredients. Take a fork and beat the eggs into the milk and butter then start to pull in a little of the flour mixture and keep going until all of it is incorporated into a batter.
Place a frying pan or griddle on the stove over medium high heat and spread a little vegetable oil on top. With a ladle scoop some batter out of the bowl and place it on the griddle. When you notice little bubbles all around the edge of the pancake it is time to turn it over to cook on the other side. When the bubbles form again you can take it out and place it on a plate buttering the top. Syrup can be served over top.
You can alter this recipe a bit to give it a little more flavor. To make a buttermilk pancake use the same amount of buttermilk as you did regular milk. Grate the rind of a whole orange and add it to the recipe and instead of milk use orange juice for an orange flavored pancake. Add one teaspoon almond flavoring to make an almond pancake. Take three fourths cup of washed whole blueberries and add to the batter for blueberry pancakes. If you would rather have strawberry pancakes you can slice three fourths of a cup of strawberries and add them instead. If you really want something sweet and fun add one half of a cup of chocolate chips at the end when everything is mixed up. Serve chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream instead of syrup.
If you want to try something different you can make chocolate pancakes. They are unusual and very delicious. They should probably be served as a dessert instead of at breakfast. In a bowl combine two cups of flour, three teaspoons baking powder, and one fourth teaspoon salt. Mix these items together and add three fourths cup of white sugar and mix in. Add one cup of milk and four teaspoons of butter. Mix in well and then add two eggs and mix well. Finally add six teaspoons of powdered cocoa and mix well.
Next scoop up some of the batter in a ladle and place it on a frying pan that has been drizzled with some vegetable oil. Watch for bubbles at the edges and when you see them turn the pancake over and transfer to a plate once the bubbles are seen around the edges again. Put a pat of butter on top and then some whipped cream. To make it even better place some chocolate chips over top and allow them to melt before eating.
Pancakes are good any time of day and kids just love them. Whip up a batch and watch your family happily devour them in just seconds. Use the Old Fashion recipe and make each batch different with the variations or you can whip up the chocolate pancakes and serve them for dessert.
If you want to learn how to prepare pancakes check out Andrews pancake recipe website where you will recipes like fluffy pancake recipe and many others.
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