Fluffy Blueberry Pancakes

Who wakes up at 7 AM on a weekend with a sudden desire to make pancakes?
Much to my dismay, me.

The irony has nothing to do with the "ungodly" hour, but in fact, this:
There are only a few foods I dislike. For instance, I'm not a huge fan of anchovies (even 멸치), durian, liver, and... pancakes.

Yes, it's true. I spent a good portion of my childhood, convinced that pancakes and I would never get along. Then one fateful day (or morning, rather), I felt compelled to make my first not-out-of-a-box pancakes, and my misplaced belief about pancakes were destroyed with a single bite. I became an instant convert! I guess I just had the misfortune of consecutively consuming over-sugary, cheap-syruped, way too dense pancakes in the past. Well, not no mo' mama! I'm not saying I make the best pancakes (far from it), but now I know how pancakes ought to taste... all the time. Pancake-lover already or not, give this recipe a go. ENJOY!


Ingredients:
Pancake batter

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• A sprinkle of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk (I used 1/2 cup 2% milk; 1/2 cup buttermilk)
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup fresh or thawed blueberries (I used fresh)

Honey syrup

• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 2/3 cup honey  

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar).

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, vanilla and egg yolks.

3. Stir the milk mixture in with the dry ingredients. Add the butter and whisk together until there are no large lumps (Too smooth is actually bad. This will result in wet and grainy pancakes - ick).

4. In another bowl, beat the egg whites (preferably with an electric mixer) until soft peaks have formed (test: when you turn your whisk upside down, there should be "peaks" that form on its end. These "peaks" should dissolve fairly quickly. They are "soft."). Gently fold this into the batter until just combined. (This is the part that make the pancakes fluffy!)

*Almost there, guys. Hang in there! It'll be worth it!*

5. Ladle a generous scoop of batter onto a lightly-PAMed or buttered griddle for each pancake. Place a few blueberries on each pancake and cook ~ 2 min. per side, until cakes are golden-brown and cooked through.

6. While you have the pancakes sizzling, make the honey syrup:

Stir 1/3 cup water and 1/3 cup white sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Slowly stir until sugar dissolves (about 3 min). Stir in the honey. Turn off heat and set aside but keep honey syrup warm.

If making your own syrup is beyond your call of duty, just get a good maple syrup (anything from Canada or Maine is pretty legit, methinks). 

7. Drizzle some honey syrup on each hot cake, sprinkle some powdered sugar if you're feeling especially fancy, and serve immediately!

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Some helpful pancake tips:

• For fluffier pancakes, fold in egg whites into the batter right before you start frying.
• After you heat the pan for a min. or so, brush on some butter or spray on PAM (even if using a non-stick pan) as opposed to using oil. Pancakes should never look or taste as if they were fried in deep oil.
• Frozen berries work fine, but fresh tastes better. To prevent your batter from becoming a colorful mess, however, wait to add the fruit until you've after ladled the batter onto the pan. Then gently plop a few pieces of fruit - it's ok that it's only on one side. 
• When do you flip? When you see little air bubbles rising to the top.
• Some people claim that letting the batter sit for 30 min. or so after you mix all the ingredients helps with the texture (fluffier, perhaps?). If you have the patience (and the time), give it a try and let me know how they turn out.

More tips from smitten kitchen. { link }

yield: 10 small pancakes
type: Breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert!
difficulty: Moderate
cost: $

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Happy Sabbath Sunday!

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4