Archive for February, 2009
I suspect that one of the reasons that pancakes are usually kept fairly simple – plain or buttermilk seem to make up the vast majority of pancake recipes – is that pancakes are such a great way of serving maple syrup. It’s easy to save the bulk of the flavor for the syrup. But it is also easy to infuse a little more flavor into basic pancakes and doing so only improves breakfast, making the pancakes a little more interesting.
These pancakes get a little flavor boost from the addition of brown sugar. I used a bit more sugar than I typically would in a pancake recipe to bring it out, so the resulting pancakes are sweet and fluffy, as well as very soft and tender. They really are on the cake-like side of the pancake spectrum, and are all the more delicious for it. Still, the brown sugar flavor is relatively subtle on its own, if you want to take the time to make a batch of regular pancakes (as I did!), it is easy to see how much the flavor really stands out when you compare these to a plainer version.
To enhance the flavor even more, I made up a special syrup to serve these pancakes with. The syrup is a mixture of brown sugar, butter and real maple syrup. It tastes vaguely like pralines, and does a wonderful job of bringing out the brown sugar flavor – as well as the flavor from the butter – in the pancakes. It is best served warm, as the sugar may crystallize if the syrup sits too long at room temperature.
Both the syrup and the pancake recipe can be halved quite easily if you don’t want to make a big batch.
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February 24th is National Pancake Day and, in the spirit of celebration, IHOP will be giving out free short stacks of pancakes (3 large pancakes) to all of its customers from 7am to 10pm! The promotion includes their classic buttermilk pancakes, and there is a limit of one stack per guest.
The reason that IHOP holds this promotion is to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, a nonprofit that raises money for children’s hospitals around the country. The general idea is that the pancakes are free, so that money (or more, if you feel so inclined) can be donated to the charity. Last year, IHOP was able to raise more than $875,000 through this promotion. No pressure, though. You can always eat the pancakes and support this charity and others in any way you see fit at another time.
Angel food cakes are just delightful – fluffy, soft and sweet. The full size cakes are light, but sometimes you just don’t need a whole big cake. Maybe you don’t have an angel food pan, which is crucial to success in baking a full angel food cake, or maybe you don’t want to use up a dozen eggs just for the egg whites. Perhaps it’s just too much cake to have lying around the house. Whatever the reason, it’s good to know that angel food cake can be adapted into a cupcake recipe quite easily.
Angel food cupcakes are light and fluffy, just like their big brothers, but bake up in a regular muffin tin. They’re not quite as impressive to look at (small and with flat tops), but they taste great and are a yummy snack. I don’t frost angel food cupcakes because they are so soft that their taste and texture can be lost if you use too much as a topping. I opt for a simple glaze, if I’m going to top them, or leave them plain.
To dress up this batch, I mixed some chocolate to make chocolate chip angel food cupcakes. I used some bar chocolate (dark and white chocolate) and chopped it up to act as my “chips.” Chopping up the chocolate is actually one of the most important things you need to do for this recipe before mixing them into the batter. Full-size chocolate chips can be too heavy for the delicate cake and will sink down to the bottom, causing not only an uneven distribution of ingredients, but probably causing the cupcakes to stick to the pan. Chopped chocolate – and you can use any flavor you like – will remain suspended in the cake nicely.
One other thing to keep in mind is that it is better to either use a nonstick muffin tin or very lightly grease your pan. Cupcake wrappers tend to shrink around the cake when it cools, while the cake can cling to the sides of the pan as it cools to help maintain its ultra-fluffy texture.
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Homemade vanilla sugar is one ingredient that I always like to keep in the kitchen. Specked with vanilla beans, the sugar can be used in place of regular sugar in most recipes and can really boost the flavor in a cake or a batch of cookies. It’s easy to make, but it’s not the only flavored sugar option out there. Another type of sugar I like to make is citrus sugar, and I’m a big fan of lemon sugar in particular.
All you need to make lemon sugar is a fresh lemon or two, some sugar and an airtight container. Pour the sugar into your container and zest a lemon right into the sugar. I tend to use one large lemon for about 2-3 cups of sugar, depending on the size of the lemon and how lemony I want my sugar to be. Zesting releases the natural oils of the lemon and those oils absorb quickly into the sugar. Stir well, then let the sugar mixture sit out for at least an hour to dry slightly. Close up the container, give it a good shake and then store it in your cupboard so that it is ready any time you need it. To refresh the mixture after you use some up, add in some regular sugar and stir everything around. You won’t need to zest in more citrus unless you use up almost the whole batch.
This can also be made using orange zest or lime zest, instead of lemon zest, if you’d prefer to keep a different flavor around. In addition to being mixed into recipes, citrus sugar is also great for making drinks. Lemon sugar tastes great in tea and lemonade, as does orange sugar. Lime sugar is delicious for rimming glasses for daiquiris, mojitos and other cocktails.
The UK’s Times Online, which is the online version of The Times newspaper, ran a big article on the world of food blogging this week and included their picks for the 50 Best Food Blogs in the World – a list that included Baking Bites, along with many other wonderful sites. It’s an honor to be recognized, and I want to say congrats to the other bloggers and thanks to the readers who support this site and others by visiting, commenting and trying recipes at home!
I’m reprinting the entire list below, so if you have a few minutes (or hours, as the list is very long) to spare, browse through and maybe you’ll be able to add some new favorites to your blogroll.
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