Pancakes, which date back as far as the Stone Age, are a popular food in a variety of cultures. In honor of National Pancake Day, here are 5′ different types of pancakes and where they are found in the world.
1. Roti (Thailand)
- In a bowl, combine water, egg, condensed milk, sugar, and salt. Mix well. Set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, and form a crater in the sifted flour. Pour the water/egg mixture into the flour, and mix well. Add melted butter.
- Knead this until the bowl is clean and you have a nice ball of dough. Lightly coat the dough ball with vegetable oil (we like canola oil). Let it sit for 30 minutes.
- Next, knead your dough a bit more, and form it into several balls (dough for 8 small pancakes of 3 to 3 inches). Coat them with vegetable oil.
- Roll a ball of dough flat with a rolling pin, then cut from center out to edge. Roll it up. Push it in with your finger. Repeat this a few times.
- Now roll and stretch the dough ball into a very flat square sheet, for this step coat it with a bit more oil, pick it up and place it on a hot pancake griddle that has melted margarine on it.
- Add chopped banana or your favorite filling in the middle. Wrap horizontally one side first, then the opposite side. Then vertically one end, then opposite to that end and make a purse covering the filling. Flip and fry for another 30 seconds. It took about 1 minute to finish cooking.
- Cut into 9 pieces and if you like top with sugar or with sweetened condensed milk.
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2. Dutch Baby (Netherlands)
- Start with a thin, pancake-like batter and a hot skillet.
- Pour the batter into the skillet all at once and slide it into a hot oven.
- Within a few minutes, the batter will start to puff around the edges, rising higher and higher until this “pancake” looks more like a poofy pillow.
- Once those edges turn golden and you can’t resist the sweet aroma of baked goods any longer, it’s ready.
- Out of the oven, the Dutch baby will quickly collapse back into the pan, the steam holding it up quickly evaporates.
- Slice it into wedges and smear each slice with some jam and maple syrup as you serve it up.
3. Scallion Pancake (China).
Ingredients
- 2 cup unshifted all-purpose flour (nearly 300g)
- ¾ cup water (1/2 hot boiling water + ⅓ cold water) + 10ml for adjusting
- 1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 cup chopped scallion (use green part only)
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. Chinese five-spice powder (for garnishing)
Steps
- Mix salt with all-purpose flour.
- Prepare a large mixing bowl.
- Dig a small hole in the center and then pour the hot water in.
- Wait for 10 minutes and then stir in the cold water and vegetable oil.
- Grasp everything to form a ball, cover and rest for 5 minutes and then knead until very smooth (around 3-5 minutes ). The dough should be quite soft.
- Cover the rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Aebleskiver (Denmark)
Ingredients
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp Natron (baking soda)
- 1 tbsp vanilla sugar
- 4 dl buttermilk
- 100 g butter, melted
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp sugar
Steps
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Separate the egg whites and yolks in separate bowls.
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Whisk the sugar and egg whites fluffy and stiff. The bowl must be completely clean and dry. A tiny bit of water will make the eggs whites impossible to whisk stiff.
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Set aside.
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Mix the egg yolks, all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt and vanilla sugar together in a separate bowl.
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Use a hand mixer to mix the ingredients while gradually adding the buttermilk. Keep mixing until the batter is uniform.
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Melt the butter and let it cool off a bit. Slowly add the cooled butter to the buttermilk mixture while whisking.
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Use a wooden spoon or similar to slowly mix the stiff eggs whites in the batter.
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You need a special Aebleskive pan for frying. You can get one online or maybe at your local kitchen store.
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Heat up the Aebleskive pan at medium heat and add a small piece of butter in each hole.
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Fill the holes 3/4 with the Aebleskive batter.
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When the batter starts to get firm and you can turn them over without cracking, then turn the Aebleskiver 90 degrees (using a wooden stick or similar) and let the batter flow into the pan.
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At this point, there is a hole in the side of the Aebleskive. Pour a little extra batter into the hole and turn the Aebleskive another 90 degrees so that the hole gets closed.
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When the Aebleskiver has a solid surface turn them regularly so they get an even and light-brown crust.
5. Hotcakes (Mexico)
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1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1/4 cup caster sugar
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2 eggs, lightly beaten
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60g butter, melted, cooled
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1 cup (250ml) milk
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1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
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Butter, extra, to serve
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Maple syrup, to serve
Steps
Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium mixing bowl.
Stir in the sugar. Combine the eggs, butter, milk and vanilla in a jug.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
Pour in the milk mixture and use a whisk to mix to a smooth batter. Cover with plastic wrap.
Heat a medium non-stick frypan over medium to low heat.
Lightly oil with cooking spray.
Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and cook for 2 minutes or until small bubbles appear on the surface.
Turn over and cook for 1 minute or until golden and cooked through.
Remove from pan and keep warm.
Repeat with the remaining mixture.
Serve hotcakes with extra butter and maple syrup.
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