Chez Ma Tante’s Pancakes

- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1large egg
- 1egg yolk
- 2½tablespoons baking powder
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼cups whole milk
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 1cup plus 2 tablespoons clarified butter (or store-bought), melted
- Salted butter, for serving (optional)
- Maple syrup, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Whisk egg and yolk together in a medium bowl. Add baking powder, sugar and salt; whisk until smooth and fluffy. Pour in half the milk, then half the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine. Add the remaining milk and flour plus 2 tablespoons clarified butter and stir briefly just until batter comes together but is still somewhat lumpy.
- Step 2
Heat a large 12-inch cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high for at least 5 minutes. Pour about ¼ cup clarified butter into the pan. When the surface of the clarified butter starts to shimmer, ladle about ⅓ cup of the batter into the skillet for each pancake, leaving a couple of inches between each pancake. Add more clarified butter as pancakes cook to keep about ⅛ inch of fat in the bottom of the pan at all times.
- Step 3
Cook until the top of the pancake starts to bubble and edges turn browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spatula to flip each pancake. The cooked surface should be very crispy, with a dark ring around the edge. Cook until the second side is browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat to cook the remaining pancakes, adding more clarified butter as needed.
- Step 4
Serve immediately with pats of salted butter, if desired, and maple syrup. If making a large batch, cooked pancakes can be kept warm on a wire rack set in a rimmed metal baking sheet in a 300-degree oven.
- The batter can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. You might need to increase cook time on the pancakes by 1 minute or so on each side.
Private Notes
Comments
Melt butter, more than the recipe calls for and put in in the refrigerator. As it cools, the fat solids will rise to the top. Remove the top layer of fat and the remainder is clarified butter. Also called Ghee in the grocery store.
For anyone trying these out and turned off by all the pearl-clutchers with the "TOO GREASY AND SALTY OMG MY STARS AND GARTERS": make sure your pan is nice and hot before adding the clarified butter, then make sure the butter is hot before adding the batter. I bet their pans/butter weren't hot enough, which would indeed give you a heavy, greasy pancake. If, on the other hand, you just don't like butter and salt then don't make these, make a different pancake. Good lord.
You are never going to make really great pancakes until you get the right flour ! Not all purpose and heaven forbid not bread flour. You need soft wheat flour - biscuit flour. Try it you will taste the difference.
I am not really a pancake fan. Except for these pancakes! In general, pancakes taste ok flavor-wise but they are not something I gravitate to as they are very filling—yet at the same time—I find myself still hungry soon after eating as if I hadn’t eaten anything at all. I do enjoy maple syrup but usually find it too sweet and overwhelming when poured on top of pancakes. Personal preferences aside, these pancakes are different. Buttery, crispy, and salty. They are the first pancakes that I’ve ever fully enjoyed and actually craved. Even slathered with maple syrup, they don’t seem too sweet somehow. Sure—they aren’t an everyday pancake and thank god! That’s probably why I love them.
Oh my. Best pancakes EVAH. Christmas morning treat. New tradition!! Yes a lot of butter but once a year it will be fine!!
I love salt, and these are too salty. Excellent texture, though.
