A lot of us are going to be entertaining people in our home over the next month or so. Some of them may even be staying overnight. When I have people overnight, one thing I like to do is to serve them a special breakfast in the morning when everyone is up and about.
I don't think you can get much nicer than a beautiful Apple Puff Pancake. It cooks in one pan and will feed six, and you don't have to stand over top of it while it is cooking like you do regular pancakes.
You can throw it together, pop it into an oven and then sit down and enjoy a hot drink or a glass of juice with your guests.
Its really very simple to do. If you are thinking ahead, you can take the milk and eggs out of the refrigerator as soon as you get up so that they are at room temperature, but no worries if you haven't had the forethought to do that. I give you instructions on how to do that very quickly in the notes of the recipe.
I like to use Granny Smith apples for this. They have a lovely sweet/tart flavour and they hold their shape well when cooking.
You don't want apples to settle into mush . . . you want to see the pieces in there!
I like to use my iron skillet as it moves very well from oven to table top. Its oven proof and is quite attractive.
It also holds the heat well, so your pancake won't cool off too quickly if you have stragglers who take their time getting to the table.
Just make sure you warn your guests not to touch the handle as it will be very hot. Even better, wrap the handle in an attractive tea towel or get one of those handle shaped pot holders. Better safe than sorry.
You butter the skillet really well with real butter. I don't like butter substitutes if I can help it. There is no substitute for the flavour of real butter . . .
The apples are peeled, sliced and tossed together with some sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. These get dumped into the buttered pan. Its okay if they look lopsided and some end up sticking out of the batter.
These bits will get a bit caramelised and add not only to the beauty of the finished dish, but also to the flavour.
Other than that all you need to do then is to beat together the pancake batter and pour it over the apples in the skillet. It won't cover them all as I said, that's okay.
Gently shake the pan back and forth with the handle to help the pancake batter settle into the pan and then just bang the whole thing into the oven.
Now put out some rashers of streaky bacon on a lined baking sheet, and set it aside until about 15 minutes before the pancake is done and go have a sit down with your company for a few.
Pop the pan of bacon into the oven about 15 minutes before the pancake is done and set the table. Fill a pouring jug with some pure Maple Syrup.
Let the pancake sit for about 10 minutes before you serve it. It looks really pretty dusted with some icing sugar. Cut it into wedges to serve along with some crisp bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup. Oh boy, some good!
Yield: 6
Apple Puff Pancake
In a French Kitchen, this would be called a clafoutis. Clafoutis, Pancake, apple flan, no matter what you call it, this is one heavenly breakfast dish!
ingredients:
- 2 tsp softened butter to butter the pan
- 150g white sugar, divided (3/4 cup)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- 140g plain flour (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
- 240ml whole milk, at room temperature (1 cup)
- icing sugar to dust and maple syrup for pouring
instructions:
How to cook Apple Puff Pancake
- Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Butter a heavy 10-inch oven proof skillet with the softened butter and set aside.
- Take 2 TBS of the sugar and mix with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the apples and toss well together. Transfer to the buttered skillet.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt along with the remaining sugar, until well blended.
- Whisk together the egg and milk. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Whisk together until smooth and well blended.
- Pour the batter over the apples in the skillet. Give the skillet a bit of a shake back and forth so that the filling settles. Its okay if some apples are sticking out of the batter as they will slightly caramelise.
- Place the whole skillet into the oven and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let sit for 10 minutes, then dust with icing sugar and serve. Cut into wedges to serve and serve with some bacon and maple syrup if desired.
NOTES:
To bring milk and eggs to room temperature, heat the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds and place the eggs into a measure of hot tap water and leave them to sit while you get all the other ingredients together, at which time they will be perfectly at room temperature.
If you really wanted to be festive you could add some fresh or dried cranberries to the apples before you pour the batter over top, but trust me when I tell you it is pretty perfect just as it is!
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