Banana pancakes

Pancake day is brilliant. It's that time of year where you can stuff your face yet claim it's because you are following religious practices. Like Christmas. And Easter.

There are so many types of pancakes available: fluffy American pancakes, crepes, blinis, buckwheat pancakes... Buckwheat and I have never got on too well.

The first time I tried buckwheat was when my mother was looking for an alternative to rice and potatoes and bread. The result was that I chucked it into next door's garden (I was a rebellious youth \m/).

The next time I encountered buckwheat was in the form of soba. It was probably just the way I (over)cooked the Japanese noodles so that they were glutinous and sticky, but they didn't agree with me particularly well either.

Next was in the form of bread. Using a Kenwood bread machine booklet, I got used the recipe for a plain white loaf and used buckwheat flour instead. The only thing I can say about this is DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

Finally I came across buckwheat pancakes. The problem with buckwheat is often that it is too heavy, and weighs down whatever is being made with it. However in pancakes, if you beat whipped egg white into the mixture, you can have light and fluffy pancakes, or, if you make a mixture with solely the flour and milk, you can have a delicate crepe, like they serve out of foodtrucks in markets around Lille.

However this Pancake Day, I wanted to make a pancake which did not involve flour. Potato would be too heavy, carrot too watery, but banana... banana had the right substance for a thick pancake which could settle in the pan without clogging up your throat when you ate it. For these pancakes though, you cannot have overripe bananas, as they will not solidify enough.

You will need:
two bananas, pureed
one egg
a dash of milk

Mix all the ingredients together and fry over a medium heat in a lightly oiled pan.
Serve with butter, bananas and syrup - it can't be too healthy!


Other variations of pancakes I have seen but have yet to imitate include the ricotta pancakes served at The Hoxton Grill in Shoreditch (EC2A).

Poached pears*

Poached pears are a surprisingly quick dessert. The softer the pear, the quicker it will poach and the less sweetness it needs.

You can poach pears in many liquids, a sweet dessert wine being one of them (and my favourite too!)Alternatively, you could use white wine, juice, or a syrup- perhaos spiced with cinammon or cardammon.

one-two pears per person, peeled  cored
a bottle of sweet wine, like muscat
a few star aniseed
some cardammon pods
a cinnammon stick
seeds of a vanilla pod

In a medium sized saucepan over a low heat, add the liquid and the spices, and leave to simmer for 5 minutes.
Then add the pears which should be covered by liquid. If not, add more wine, or water to dilute it. You could add pear juice to intensify the flavour, but only fresh and definitely not a juice drink.
Leave the pears on a low-medium heat for about 20 minutes (for a medium sized pear), or until the pears can be cut through easily.
Remove the pears and leave the liquid on a medium heat to reduce into more of a syrup.

Serve the pears hot and drizzled in the syrup, with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Perhaps...
if you use water, you could use pear stock: leaving the pear skins in freshly boiled water to infuse.
you could poach in milk.
or cider?
use another hardish fruit like an apple.




*thanks Grandma!

Orange and almond cake

Orange and almond cake

   

 

*sizing is not accurate; the orange is definitely not that big

 

 

This cake is an easy wheat-free bake, perfect as a light end to a meal.

 

Ingredients:

a large unwaxed orange

125g ground almonds

3 eggs, separated

75g sugar

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200C and butter a cake tin.

In a large saucepan on medium heat with a few tablespoons of water, put the orange in, cover, and leave to simmer for about half an hour, or until the orange has softened considerably.

When the orange has softened, dry it and blitz it. Although the pith has a lot of fibre, it can give a slightly bitter taste.

In one bowl whisk the whites of the eggs until you have soft peaks.

In another bowl, beat the yolks and the sugar until the volume of the yolks has doubled.

Add the ground almonds and orange mixture to the sugar/yolk mix until thorougly combined.

Gradually, add the egg whites, but be careful to not knock out the air you have obtained.

Pour into the cake tin from a low height. If you pour it from high, air is lost from the mixture.

Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden and when the cake is pricked, the fork comes out clean or with a few crumbs.

  

Variations:

Add baking powder for a higher rise in the cake.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, juice 4 large oranges. Reduce the juice in the pan till it is slightly more syrupy. Prick the cake with a fork several times, and drizzle the orange reduction over it. When you prick the cake, it absorbs more of the liquid.