Pancakes to me are the ultimate comfort food. Whether you serve them with butter and maple syrup, or with bananas and Greek yogurt, they will always be delicious. Pancakes served with homemade strawberry syrup and whipped cream is my personal favorite, and no matter who you are, this recipe will surely satisfy your pancake cravings.
Fluffy Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup and Whipped Cream:
The Toppings:
First up, the strawberry syrup. When eating some thick and fluffy pancakes, I often find myself wanting something to offset their richness and heaviness, and this syrup does exactly that. The fruitiness and slight acidity of the syrup give these pancakes a refreshing element, which keeps you coming for more and more. The rich pancakes with the fruity tartness of the syrup is truly a match made in heaven.
Next up in the recipe, the whipped cream. There is nothing better than some whipped cream on your freshly griddled pancakes. The contrast between the piping hot pancakes and the chilled whipped cream is marvelous. The variety of temperatures and textures provided from the warm and crispy pancakes, the fresh strawberry syrup, and the cool, velvety whipped cream truly elevates this dish and make these simple pancakes superbly gourmet.
The Batter:
Sifting your dry ingredients is a key step, but is often overlooked. I completely get it, it seems really unnecessary, but sifting is actually crucial to the texture of your pancakes. By sifting your ingredients, you ensure that no large clumps, strange bits, and pieces, or even slightly larger granules of sugar, for example, make it into your batter. Sifting gives you an extremely smooth pancake batter and gives the pancakes a wonderfully silky texture.
Another key component in forming your glorious batter is whipping your egg whites. If you’ve ever seen the super fluffy Japanese pancakes that have taken over Instagram, you should know that the reason they get so fluffy is due to the whipped egg whites. By using a hand mixer or a whisk to beat your egg whites, you incorporate air into the whites, giving them a very airy and fluffy texture. When you place your egg whites into your pancake batter, you are using them as a catalyst to incorporate air into the batter itself. Make sure to fold the egg whites into the batter very gently, being very careful not to overmix as to not deflate the air that you incorporated into the whites. In general, by whipping your egg whites, your pancakes will rise beautifully and will have a very nice light and airy texture.
A Recipe Pointer:
Sometimes when you look through a recipe, it requires your whipped cream to be beaten to stiff peaks. What in the world does that mean? Peaks refer to the firmness or sturdiness of whatever your mixing. The most common types of peaks are soft peaks, medium peaks, and stiff peaks. See the diagram below for an explanation for each type of peak. In this recipe, you will need to whip your whipped cream to medium peaks and your egg whites to stiff peaks.
Description of soft, medium, and stiff peaks. https://medium.com/. November 5, 2018. https://medium.com/@buildingourrez/triple-chocolate-nutella-pumpkin-patch-trifle-recipe-1ff2abfffbc1
Cooking Your Pancakes:
Although it is common to use only butter to cook your pancakes, I prefer a mix of both butter and oil. Cooking your pancakes in butter gives them a great richness and provides a delicious slightly nutty flavor, however, the biggest downside is that butter burns quickly, in which case your pancakes will burn easily too. Therefore, drizzling your cooking surface with a neutral oil first and then placing a few slices of butter on the cooking surface as well, gives you the best of both worlds. Your pancakes don’t burn, yet you still get that unbelievable buttery flavor.
Fluffy Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup and Whipped Cream
Cuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy10
Pancakes45
minutesFor the pancakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1/4 cup melted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
- For The Strawberry Syrup
1 pound fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup water
- For The Whipped Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Directions
- Cut off the strawberry stems and cut each strawberry into quarters. Place strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and water into a medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil; stirring constantly in order to break up the strawberries. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 5 more minutes; continuing to stir constantly. Make sure to not have any large pieces of strawberries left. Remove from heat and cool.
- Using a hand mixer, mix the heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar together until medium peaks form. Set aside and let cool in the fridge.
- In a large bowl sift together all of the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl combine the wet ingredients: milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add 1 of your eggs in with the wet ingredients. Separate the second egg and place the yolk into the bowl with wet ingredients. Place the remaining egg white into a separate small bowl.
- Using a hand mixer, beat the single egg white until stiff peaks form.
- Place the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Whisk until combined and the batter is smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold in the beaten egg white until just combined, being careful not to over mix.
- Heat a medium-sized pan or griddle on medium-low heat. Drizzle the cooking surface with any neutral cooking oil(canola, vegetable, etc.). Then, place a few slices of butter on the cooking surface with the oil.
- Using a 1/2 cup, place batter on the cooking surface: spreading the batter evenly until a circular shape is formed. Fit as many pancakes as possible(still maintaining a good amount of space between each pancake).
- Cook 4 – 5 minutes before flipping. Cook for about 3 more minutes on the other side before removing the pancakes from the heat.
- Stack your pancakes in any formation you please and generously cover with strawberry syrup(served warm). Finish off with a few dollops of whipped cream and enjoy.
Notes
- If the strawberry syrup gets too thick when cooled, add a few teaspoons of water and reheat the syrup on low heat.
- 1/2 cup for each pancakes will make fairly large pancakes. Feel free to use a smaller or larger amount of batter for each pancake depending on how you like your pancakes.
