Mr J was reading Pancakes for Findus, by Sven Nordqvist, when he suddenly noticed the recipe at the end of the book. He bubbled over with excitement. "Let's make our own pancakes, just like Pettson does for Findus!"
This book has slightly comical illustrations and an engaging text [translated into English from the original Swedish], and I find it just as fun to read as the kids do. The plot centres around Pettson, an eccentric farmer, and his intelligent cat Findus. The farmer attempts to create his usual pancake masterpiece to celebrate Findus' birthday, but his plans are upset when he fails to find his flour. The resulting chaos takes up most of the book, making us laugh and anticipate the end result so much more. When the pancakes are finally revealed in all their stacked glory, we breathe a sigh of relief, and feel hungry for pancakes.
So this afternoon I found myself with two eager helpers, each vying for the best area in which to stand while mixing up the pancake batter. Later, I slowly cooked the pancakes, standing over a very hot stove for what seemed like an age. These were Swedish/English style crepes, not raised American pancakes.
For Pettson's special pancake recipe to be complete, they had to be layered with maple syrup laced [our own addition!] double cream and strawberry jam. Raw chocolate buttons adorned the top.
We cut the resulting stacked pancake circle into generous pieces. Delicious!
Mr J now wants this as his next birthday cake. That's only 361 days away, so he will probably change his mind a thousand times until then, and end up with his requisite banana cake.
Pancake Recipe from "Pancakes for Findus"
5 eggs
600ml/2.5 cups milk
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
100ml/0.5 cups water
2 TBS butter
200ml/ 7oz double cream or whipping cream
Jam
1) Mix eggs, half the milk, and salt.
2) Add the flour and mix until smooth. Add the remaining milk and water. Leave to sit for a moment.
3) On a hot griddle, melt the butter and add this to the mix so you don't have to use so much butter between pourings. Cook the pancakes and let them cool.
4) Whip the cream; spread the cream and jam alternately on the pancakes, stacking them on a plate as you go. Decorate.
Mr J now wants this as his next birthday cake. That's only 361 days away, so he will probably change his mind a thousand times until then, and end up with his requisite banana cake.
Pancake Recipe from "Pancakes for Findus"
5 eggs
600ml/2.5 cups milk
1 tsp salt
2 cups flour
100ml/0.5 cups water
2 TBS butter
200ml/ 7oz double cream or whipping cream
Jam
1) Mix eggs, half the milk, and salt.
2) Add the flour and mix until smooth. Add the remaining milk and water. Leave to sit for a moment.
3) On a hot griddle, melt the butter and add this to the mix so you don't have to use so much butter between pourings. Cook the pancakes and let them cool.
4) Whip the cream; spread the cream and jam alternately on the pancakes, stacking them on a plate as you go. Decorate.
The pancakes look delicious. Almost like a pancake pie. Eve has such a pixie look about her. I think she must enjoy the taste of maple syrup.
ReplyDeleteShe looks so sweet herself.