After celebrating Candlemas, Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to enjoy some delicious pancakes with your loved one… This coming February 14th will be the occasion to get out that frying pan out and get cooking to impress your Valentine!
Spiced up with a bit of ginger or saffron, pancakes are the perfect way to reawaken your senses and desires…
Ingredients (makes about 20 pancakes)
- 250g flour
- 3 organic eggs
- 500ml full fat organic milk
- 25g sugar
- Pinch of salt
- Sunflower oil for cooking
Optional flavours
- 5cm vanilla pod
- 1cm fresh ginger
- 20 saffron threads
There are three stages to making these pancakes: infusing the milk (30 mins/overnight), preparing the batter and leaving to rest (30 mins to 2 hours) and cooking (30 mins).
1. Infusing the milk with spices
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For the ginger spiced pancakes:
Boil the milk on medium heat with the ginger (peeled, washed and finely sliced).
Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out the seeds into the milk, leave to infuse for 30 minutes.
Using a sieve, filter the milk into a large bowl and leave to cool.
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For the saffron pancakes:
It’s best to leave the saffron to infuse overnight.
For this, heat the half of the milk with the saffron for around 10 minutes, remove from heat, cover with a tea towel and leave overnight.
The following day, filter the infused milk using a sieve.
2. Preparing the batter and leaving to rest
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar and salt)
Make a well in the centre and add the eggs (beaten).
Slowly incorporate the infused milk (remember to add the remaining milk for the saffron pancakes) and thoroughly mix all the ingredients together to obtain a smooth and silky batter.
Cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes or up to 2 hours to allow the starches in the flour to hydrate and swell in contact with the milk.
3. Cooking and flipping the pancakes!
Heat two lightly oiled pans, wiping away any surplus oil with kitchen roll.
Using a ladle, carefully pour the mixture into the centre of the pan whilst slowly rotating to allow the mixture to spread evenly around the pan.
Using a spatula, carefully unstick the edges of the pancake and carefully flip onto the other side.
Once the pans are hot enough, 1 minute on each side is enough to cook the batter.
Et voila!
Your special Valentine’s Day pancakes are ready!
You can also play around with other flavours such as honey, lemon, salted caramel, or simply enjoy them as they are. Just let your senses and desires guide you..
Bon appétit!
