Soups & Starters
Puddings & Desserts
Apple and Ginger Pancakes
All kitted out with the crepe pan from Judge’s new Radiant range that I mentioned in Friday’s savoury pancake recipe, I was inspired to to try out some different sweet fillings for Shrove Tuesday too and this is my favourite. I served it for pudding when my neighbours Steve and Ann came to dinner last night and they were very nice about, especially as it came with a big scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream on the side (recipe for the ice cream is the same as the strawberry one I posted in the summer, minus the fruit: https://a-cooks-plot.blogspot.com/2018/06/strawberry-ice-cream.html)).
There are two textures of apples in this filling - a puree of cooking apples, and chunks of caramelised dessert apples, both nicely spiced with ginger. If you like, you can drizzle a little chopped stem ginger from a jar (and its syrup) over the top of the pancakes just before serving. (Really sorry A & S, I completely forgot both the almonds and the stem ginger last night!)
Ingredients
Serves 4
- Pancake batter:
- 75g plain flour
- 1 egg
- 100ml milk
- 50ml water
- quarter tsp vanilla paste
- Filling:
- 3 cooking apples
- one and a half tbsp caster sugar
- half tbsp ground ginger
- 2 dessert apples
- juice of half a lemon
- handful of toasted flaked almonds
- chopped stem ginger from a jar (optional)
Method
First, make the pancake batter by putting the flour in a large jug. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, milk, water and vanilla, then whisk together until smooth. Set aside.
Peel, core and cut the cooking apples into chunks then put in a pan with the sugar and 1 tbsp of the ginger, then cover the pan and cook over a medium heat and soft and pulpy (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile peel, core and slice the dessert apples and fry in a little butter for 10 minutes until nicely browned, then pour the lemon juice into the pan and bubble for a minute.
To make the pancakes, brush a little vegetable oil over the base of a non-stick frying pan or crepe pan with a pastry brush and heat the pan until it's very hot. Then, holding the pan off the heat, pour a little batter from the jug into the pan, swirling it as you go, until the base is thinly covered. Put back on the heat and leave for 2 minutes, check it is golden underneath, then use a silicone spatula to flip it over to the other side and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Spoon the filling into the pancakes, drizzle with the almonds and chopped stem ginger if using and serve with ice cream.