Sunday, May 06, 2007

Golden saffron pancakes on a sunny Sunday morning



We always have pancakes for breakfast on Sunday mornings. I don't know if we can call it a tradition yet, as we've only lived together for just over six months (I moved in with K. upon my return from Scotland in mid-October), but we've surely had loads of pancakes during that time. If we're not having pancakes at home, we enjoy them at either my parents' place or at K's mum's place. Not having pancakes for Sunday breakfasts seems almost wrong.. I wonder if "Sunday pancakes" might be an Estonian thing, as I know many-many other families who start their Sundays with pancakes and some jam. Any thoughts?

But there's a pancake confession I need to make: I'm not very good in making pancakes. Althought I can make small, fat pancakes (dropcakes), I'm utterly useless in making thin crepe-style pancakes. K., on the other hand, enjoys making pancakes in all shape and form. Thin ones. Thick ones. Small dropcakes. Large crepes. Pancake batter made with milk, with buttermilk, with whipping cream, with curd cheese. You name it. So it's usually him making pancakes on Sundays, to my great delight. This morning he woke me up with a batch of saffron pancakes, served with freshly made rhubarb jam a la Moominmamma. I had bookmarked both recipes to make myself, but when K. offered to make these himself, I didn't complain. After all, it meant I could lie in bed for half an hour longer :)

These pancakes - a cover recipe of the 3/2007 issue of the Finnish food magazine Glorian Ruoka & Viini (see left) - caught my eye with their gorgeous golden colour. And it wasn't just a trick photography - in our kitchen the pancakes had a deep amber hue, and a definite whiff of saffron. The original recipe accompanied them with a jam made from berries (f. ex. raspberries, strawberries, cherries, apricots or such like), vanilla, star anise and rhum. That sounds good, but I've got loads of rhubarb just now, and I knew these would go well with Moominmamma's rhubarb & ginger jam. I was right.

Saffron pancakes
(Safranipannkoogid)
Source: Glorian Ruoka & Viini, Numero 44, 3/2007
Serves 4



400 ml plain flour (240 g)
2 tsp baking powder
0.75 tsp salt
4 Tbsp sugar (70 g)
2 Tbsp water, boiling
0.5 g saffran (a very scant pinch!)
300 ml milk (low-fat is fine)
3 medium eggs
50 ml butter, melted and cooled

butter or oil for frying

Mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and sugar) in a bowl.
Pour boiling water into a measuring jug, add saffron and mix, until the water has coloured. Add milk and pour the mixture onto the dry ingredients.
Add the eggs and the melted butter and mix until combined (do not overmix). Add a bit more milk, if the batter feels to thick.
Heat a heavy-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat, add a bit of butter. Add a small ladleful of batter and fry pancakes for couple of minutes on both sides, until golden brown.
Keep pancakes warm under a piece of foil, while you bake the rest.
Serve warm with some home-made jam.

Other pancake recipes @ Nami-nami:
Buttermilk pancakes with sliced bananas, toasted nuts and warm maple syrup (March 2006)
Wild strawberries on pancakes (July 2006)

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

oi tahan ka.ja see rabarba(e)ri moos.
meil J on super pannkoogimeister,mina vaid hale vari.
aga mul hakkas täna dieet, eilse söömingu tulem oli ei rohkem ega vähem kui 2,5 kilo.
tore, et teil oli ilus pannkoogihommik.

Kalyn Denny said...

Very interesting. I am intrigued by the addition of saffron. Here we always make pancakes when we go camping. Go figure, they are not that easy to make outdoors, but all my brothers love to do it.

K and S said...

I wish I could make pancakes as easily as K can. These look great!

Lisa Fain (Homesick Texan) said...

Oh yes, yes, yes! I love saffron bread but never thought to make saffron pancakes. Wonderful!

Unknown said...

Thank you Pille for your entry. My son loves to make pancakes for Sunday breakfast. I must get him to try adding saffron.

ScienceMel said...

I saw the cutiest pancake pans yesterday - a set with a flower and bear. Pancakes are a Sunday thing at my house. Have been for a long time now. Although, since there is just one of me, it turns out to be the rewarmed variety. =( Alot of work for this single gal! Thanks for the new recipe.

Valentina said...

Oh Pille, I am in love with these pancakes. In Brazil it is by no means tradition eating pancakes for bkfast. People might do it for taste rather than tradition. I have become a really big fan of pancakes over the last few years and yours has most definitely tempeted me.

Pille said...

Mann - mul on püsivalt dieet. Nelja koogitüki asemel võtan kolm:)

Kalyn - pancakes while camping? I think we'd have instant porridge then - easy to carry and prepare. We've already got a recipe from a French food magazine for coffee pancakes put aside, so it seems to be a season for fancy pancakes:)

K&S - same here!! I've got a lot to learn from that guy!

Homesick Texan - if you like saffron - and pancakes - then you should definitely try these!!

Barbara - thank you for commenting and organising the A Taste of Yellow event! Hope your son will like saffron pancakes, too!

Sciencemel - I guess that's why I had pancakes so rarely in Edinburgh - they're not much fun to make for one only, are they!?

Valentina - thanks for telling us more about Brazilian pancake traditions (well, non-tradition:) I'm glad to be eating pancakes regularly again, as I didn't eat them so often when in Scotland.