Breakfast: Neil's Pancakes

By SharonE

I had the best pancakes in the world from Clinton St. Baking Co. and I immediately went out and got the cookbook. It's close but I feel like it's missing something.

Ingredients

• Maple Butter:
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder, plus 1 tsp.
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup (12 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tsp. unmelted for the griddle
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting
• 1 cup real maple syrup (grade-B organic)
• 2 sticks (16 tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Details

Servings 18

Preparation

Step 1

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 degrees F. Grease the hot griddle with the remaining butter. Drop 1/4 cup (approximately 4 tbsp.) of pancake batter on the griddle and cook to set. Add 1 tbsp. blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 tsp. 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.

Maple Butter:
Heat the maple syrup over medium heat.

Add the cold butter to the warm syrup by whisking in a few cubes at a time until the sauce is smooth and all of the butter is incorporated.

Turn off the flame and keep the sauce in a warm place until ready to serve. It will keep for at least two months in the refrigerator. Never boil the syrup.