Gourmet pancakes with brandied berries

The beauty of pancakes is their versatility. For those whose penchant is for something sweet, they can be sprinkled with a mix of caster sugar and powdered cinnamon or filled with fruit or ice cream. Others with a savoury palate prefer their pancakes stuffed with cheese, savoury mince, bacon, chicken or veggies.

We asked chef Bernice Warner from Capsicum Culinary Studio’s Nelson Mandela Bay campus to share her favourite pancake recipe and here’s what she sent us:

Gourmet pancakes with brandied berries

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 250ml milk
• 250ml water
• 5ml vanilla essence
• 5ml lemon juice
• Grated lemon zest of 1 lemon
• 60ml vegetable oil
• 375ml cake flour
• 10ml baking powder

Method

1. Mix together the eggs, milk, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, oil and vanilla essence.
2. Sieve all the dry ingredients and blend with the wet mixture in a mixing bowl with a whisk until a smooth, thick batter is achieved.
3. Pour a ladle full of batter into a non-stick frying pan and cook until golden brown, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side.
4. Stack the pancakes and serve warm.

Pastry cream filling

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 150g caster sugar
• 70g cake flour
• 500ml full cream milk
• 5ml vanilla essence

Method

1. Cream the egg yolks, sugar and flour together till smooth.
2. Heat the milk in a saucepan to a simmer and temper by adding a steady stream of the heated milk into the egg mixture, whisking constantly until combined.
3. Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat until thick and the flour has been cooked out.
4. Allow filling to cool before spreading onto the pancakes.

Brandied berries

Ingredients

• 250g mixed frozen berries
• 45ml caster sugar
• 60ml brandy

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, reduce the heat and allow the mixture to thicken slightly.
2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Assemblage

1. Place a sheet of plastic wrap on a work surface large enough to form a rectangle.
2. Place the cooled pancakes down, slightly overlapping on the sides to form a rectangle. Spread a thin layer of the pastry cream filling over the pancakes.
3. Roll up the pancakes making use of the plastic wrap to form a cylinder.
4. Once rolled, wrap it tightly with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
5. Sprinkle caster sugar on top of the roulade and brûlée with a blow torch before cutting it into 2cm thick slices.
6. Serve two slices per person with a heaped tablespoon of the brandied berries.