Buttermilk Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

Pancake is always a popular weekend breakfast choice in our house.  And the top pancake choice is of course, blueberry!  Every summer we go to blueberry farm and pick buckets of blueberries.  After making blueberry jam, cakes and other delighted desserts, I pack extra blueberries in zip-loc bags and store them in freezer so that they last through winter until the next summer comes.

We always do the pancakes DIY style.  A large griddle is set on the breakfast table, with pancake batter, toppings, jam, honey or syrup and spatulas on the side.  Both of us get to cook our own pancakes the way we like! O(∩_∩)O~

 

Pancake ingredients:

1 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 to 2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon cooking oil

Blueberry sauce ingredients：

2 cups of frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup packed brown sugar (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon corn starch

Directions：

First we prepare blueberry sauce.

In a small soup pot, add blueberries, lemon juice, brown sugar and water.  Heat over high heat until the mixture comes to boil.  Reduce the heat to medium or medium low.  Cook for another 7 to 9 minutes until the sauce can thinly coat the back of a wooden spoon. 

Whisk together the corn starch and 2 to 3 teaspoons water. Add to the blueberry sauce while whisking. Cook for another minute.  Remove from heat.

I like my blueberry sauce a little thin and runny so that it can be poured over the pancakes like syrup.

Now, we can get started with the pancake batter.

Shift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a medium bowl, add eggs, buttermilk and oil.  Whisk together.

Add shifted flour to the egg milk mixture.  Whisk just until the dry flour is gone.  Don’t over mix because the more you whisk, the more gluten will form, and the chewier your pancakes will get.

Heat the electronic griddle to 350. 

Add batter.  We are using a non-stick griddle so I skip oil spray.  If you use a cast iron griddle or stainless steel pan, oil spray will be a life saver! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Let them cook on one side until you see a lot of bubbles, flip the pancakes.  It takes about more or less than one minute.

Both sides are golden brown.  That how you know they are ready.

Top with blueberry sauce.

Ok, a lot of blueberry sauce….O(∩_∩)O~

Time to enjoy!

Dutch Baby Pancake with Apple Filling

中文： 铁锅苹果薄饼

The Dutch baby pancake is one of our favorite Saturday and Sunday Brunches.   When it is baking in the oven, I can take my time to make coffee, sunny side up eggs, and pan-fried bacons. Isn’t it wonderful? O(∩_∩)O~ 

DSC_9817 3 copy.jpg

Ingredients：

2 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla exact
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

 

Directions：

Preheat oven to 425F/218 C.  

You can either preheat an 8 inches cast iron skillet in the oven or on the stove.  Either way is ok. 

Add eggs, flour, milk, sugar and vanilla exact to a blender container; blend on high speed for 20 to 30 seconds or until the batter is runny and smooth.

Add vegetable oil to preheated cast iron skillet, swirl the pan so that the oil can evenly coat the bottom.  Pour in the batter.  Bake it in oven for 22 to 25 minutes, or until the whole pancake is puffy and golden brown. 

The pancake will fall after being out of oven, so that the center is perfect of filling.  I love to fill it with blueberry sauce or apple.

 

Ingredients for apple filling：

2 to 3 medium size apples (I use the spy apples I got from farmer market.  They are tart and sweet with crunchy texture, which is perfect here.)
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 to 1/3 cup packed brown sugar (use more if prefer sweeter taste)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 to 1 teaspooncorn starch
2 to 3 tablespoons water
powder sugar to sprinkle on top (optional )

Directions：

Peel and core the apples. Cut into bite size pieces.  Add apple along with ground cinnamon, brown sugar, lemon juice and water to a medium pot.  Cook over medium high heat for about 10 minutes.  Stir constantly to prevent burning at the bottom.

In a small bowl, combine corn starch and 1 to 2 tablespoons water, whisk well and add to apple while stirring.  Cook for another couple minutes, remove from heat and pour onto Dutch baby pancake.  Sprinkle with powder sugar and serve immediately.  

It tastes very much like popover.  Yum! ~O(∩_∩)O~

Blueberry Waffles

The blueberries are in season in Michigan right now, my happiest time of year! O(∩_∩)O~  There are many blueberry farms around town.  One of the must do things in summer is to go blueberry picking.  

Besides from eating fresh blueberries, I also make tasty desserts and snacks with them.

Blueberry corn bread: http://www.yankitchen.com/blog/gszloxao30lv199lbn61q1tjofpn59

Blueberry crisp：http://www.yankitchen.com/blog/2014/10/18/-blueberry-crisp

Blueberry jam：http://www.yankitchen.com/blog/81serm5m06h5n016u8uvmf1x5t29j7

Blueberry yogurt：http://www.yankitchen.com/blog/homemade-blueberry-yogurt

Or, you can make blueberry waffles！O(∩_∩)O~

 

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
2/3 teaspoon vanilla exact
3 tablespoon oil
2 baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh blueberries
oil for greasing waffle machine
honey

Directions：

In a medium bowl, combine all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; shift together.

In another big glass cup or bowl, combine eggs, oil, vanilla and buttermilk.  Whisk until it is smooth.

Add shifted flour to egg mixture.  Whisk together just until the flour is folded in.  Don’t over mix; otherwise you are going to end up with gooey chewy waffles.

With a spatula, fold in blueberries. 

Preheat the waffle machine.

Spray both sides with oil.

Add blueberry batter.

Cover and turn it upside down, or just follow your own waffle machine menu instruction.  Wait for the ready signal from the machine.

There it is, a freshly made blueberry waffle, crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside!

Top it with fresh berries and honey.  O(∩_∩)O~

Cinnamon Swirl French Toast with Blueberry Sauce

This is one of my favorite weekend breakfasts.  Golden brown French toasts topped with honey and blueberry sauce, 2 to 3 slices of bacon, and a cup of hot coffee are as good as any breakfast can be. O(∩_∩)O~

Ingredients:

6 to 8 slices of cinnamon swirl bread
2 eggs
1/2   cup whole milk
a pinch of salt
butter / oil for pan-frying
honey
powder sugar

 

For Blueberry Sauce:

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 to 3 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions：

Place frozen blueberries, lemon juice, and brown sugar in a thick soup pot.  Heat over medium high heat until blueberry sauce thickens up a little bit.  It takes about 8 to 10 minutes.  Stir occasionally to prevent sauce getting burned at the bottom.

Heat a cast iron griddle over medium heat.

Whisk together egg, milk and salt. Soak each bread slice in the batter for 3 to 5 seconds.

Add butter or oil to the griddle, and pan-fry the bread slices until golden brown.  Flip them over and pan-fry the other side until golden brown too. 

Place them in a plate, sprinkle with powder sugar, and top with honey and blueberry sauce.