Bring out your pancakes!

February 28, 2006 2:51 AM

To celebrate this day of days, we're having a little pancake party. Can you recommend some nice simple pancake fillings/toppings, both savoury and sweet?

Ideas based around ingredients available at a fairly smallish supermarket (A Tesco Metro for UK readers) would be most welcome, though don't let that hold anyone back if they have more complex input that might inspire someone else to flights of batter-based fantasy.

posted by biffa to food & drink (43 comments total)

As far as I'm concerned, nothing beats honey. Just honey.
posted by reklaw at 3:20 AM on February 28, 2006

ideas: curried fried apples, blackened chopped cabbage with sea salt, pepper and rosemary, green apples and cheese sauce, crumbled chevre and toasted walnuts, drizzled with raspberry syrup, chopped-bacon-in-the-pancake with maple syrup on top, nutella, smoked salmon spread and hashbrown potatoes.
posted by cior at 3:20 AM on February 28, 2006

Too bad it's too last minutey to get fresh fruit ripe!

So, here's what you do. Buy a bag of frozen mixed berries. Put it in a saucepan with an inch or so of water and like a quarter cup or so of powdered sugar (you can get by with regular sugar but the cornstarch in the powdered sugar will help it thicken). Put it on a slow boil until it's all mush and starting to thicken. Don't let it get actually gooey - it will thicken more when it cools, and you're trying to make a sauce. Take it off the heat, cool it a bit, add a splash of rum, and pour it on pancakes.

Super easy.
posted by aubilenon at 3:24 AM on February 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

Oh! Two things I forgot to say: 1) that stuff described above actually tastes excellent, and 2) be prepared for a about half an hour of cooking (check in every 5 minutes or so?).

Another kind of weird suggestion is balsamic vinegar. At least, it's good on waffles, which is really what all my credentials pertain to.
posted by aubilenon at 4:00 AM on February 28, 2006

Ratatouille (canned or home-made) with grated cheese; spinach with cheese.
posted by methylsalicylate at 4:08 AM on February 28, 2006

Pancake soup?
posted by arruns at 4:14 AM on February 28, 2006

what, you mean you can put things on top of pancakes that aren't lemon juice and sugar? Horrors!
posted by scruss at 5:06 AM on February 28, 2006

Blini, caviar and vodka. Ok, you're not going to find caviar at Tesco, but maybe you can find salmon roe and sour cream.

(An aside: the sidewalk blini sellers in Moscow seem to keep lemon and sugar on hand solely for the use of UK tourists).

Golden Syrup is better then honey.
posted by Leon at 5:12 AM on February 28, 2006

I too am stopping at the supermarket on my way to a frying pan. I'll be buying: Cream cheese and icing sugar. Nutella. And of course, lemons and brown sugar. MMMMmmmmmmmmm.
posted by handee at 5:17 AM on February 28, 2006

Blini, caviar and vodka

Oh, yeah. You can buy inexpensive caviar in a nicer grocery or speciality shop. I bought some red lumpfish caviar the other day for $8. Blini are little buckwheat pancakes, if you aren't familiar. A dollop of sour cream, a dollop of caviar, some chopped chives or some capers, maybe a little finely chopped hard boiled egg. And an ice-cold shot of vodka to wash it down.

I think I'll make some more of these tonight, now that you've reminded me.
posted by briank at 5:33 AM on February 28, 2006

I had french toast stuffed with fried green apples and brie the other day, that was pretty good.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:49 AM on February 28, 2006

What - is there no maple syrup in the UK?
posted by crythecry at 5:49 AM on February 28, 2006

My dad puts thinly sliced apples in his pancakes and it is delicious! Peel the skin off an apple, cut into quarters, remove the core bits and slice into thin slices no wider than 1/16". Pour the batter into the pan and gently push the slices onto the pancake as its cooking, usually creating a ring around the pancake with two slices in the middle. If you want, you can slather a thin coating of batter over the apple slices. Flip and cook as normal. Very tasty with some maple syrup - not that Aunt Jemima crap but 100% real maple syrup.

I like making pancakes with frozen blueberries. Pour the batter into the pan and sprinkle with frozen blueberries. Flip and cook as normal. The blueberries defrost and cook when they've been flipped and create a nice juicy blueberry side of the pancake. Drizzle with maple syrup.
posted by KathyK at 5:50 AM on February 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

blueberry creme fraiche quick and easy
posted by baker dave at 5:54 AM on February 28, 2006

Condensed milk (dulce de leche if you wanna get crazy).

It's great on regular pancakes, and nothing goes better with these pancakes I invented.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:01 AM on February 28, 2006

Quark (fresh cheese about halfway between cream cheese and yogurt) with brown sugar in a pancake rolled like an ice cream cone is practically the Icelandic national dessert. The really adventurous add cinnamon.
posted by bonehead at 6:08 AM on February 28, 2006

bonehead, does that dessert have a name?
posted by rxrfrx at 6:23 AM on February 28, 2006

Bananas Fosters and vanilla ice cream. Yum....
posted by WinnipegDragon at 6:33 AM on February 28, 2006

rx, those look great, but don't you have cornbread mix up there in Boston?
posted by atchafalaya at 6:54 AM on February 28, 2006

atchafalaya, I'm more of a from-scratch kind of person... but I'm sure there is at least Jiffy Cornbread mix and one or two other kinds in the store, yeah
posted by rxrfrx at 6:57 AM on February 28, 2006

Oh, also, I'd guess it wouldn't work to make it with a mix (that contains corn meal mixed with flour) because when you boil it up at first, it might get all gross with the flour.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:58 AM on February 28, 2006

Hey, I use it all the time. Never knew there was another way. I'm going to try yours!
posted by atchafalaya at 7:02 AM on February 28, 2006

You could do something like Crepes Suzette, but with pancakes. It's awfully good, there must be some way to bring it to the pancake world.

Maybe I should try it...
posted by blacklite at 7:48 AM on February 28, 2006

Thanks so far to all, aubilenon gets a best answer as I'm definitely going to be using the hot fruit and rum idea, along with some ice cream. Still open to savoury ideas, and now have a vegetarian coming so some more ideas for her would be really welcome.
posted by biffa at 7:50 AM on February 28, 2006

Okonomiyaki or hoisin sauce, mayo, and green onions!

(A vegetarian? No-one's suggested anything she couldn't eat other than caviar.)
posted by mendel at 7:58 AM on February 28, 2006

savory: green apple and sharp cheddar. also good with ham.
posted by whatzit at 8:01 AM on February 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

Pancakes (crepes) play very happily with malt vinegar and sugar.
posted by NinjaPirate at 8:02 AM on February 28, 2006

Latkes (potato pancakes) with sour cream or creme fraiche and homemade granny smith apple sauce - delicious!

I like to make zucchini and fresh herb pancakes which are also great. Grate a bunch of zucchini and drain it, add some grated onion and lots of chopped up basil and parsley, or any other herbs you prefer. Stir in some flour to take away some of the moisture, season with salt and pepper, and fry - make the pancakes small. Top with a little sour cream or creme fraiche.
posted by hazyjane at 8:20 AM on February 28, 2006

Nutella!
posted by bluesky43 at 8:21 AM on February 28, 2006

Oh - you can also add some crumbled up goat cheese to the zucchini pancakes to make them even better.
posted by hazyjane at 8:22 AM on February 28, 2006

REAL maple syrup. Not the Mrs. Butterworth commercial maple-flavored glop. Real maple syrup. Simple. Basic. Classic.

Oh, and hells yeah about Golden Syrup. That stuff rocks.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:40 AM on February 28, 2006

Gouda cheese (baked in) and maple syrup (on top).
Everyone I feed these to love them, even though they think it sounds gross.
I usually bake my pancakes the Dutch way: they're like crepes but somewhat thicker and greasier. It would taste the same with other types of pancakes (American thick pancakes, French crepes) because the only real difference is amount of milk/eggs.

Another favourite: apple baked in and cinnamon/brown sugar on top.
And even though I'm vegetarian I know bacon (baked in) tastes good as well.

To bake the apple or cheese into the pancake:
1. Put batter in pan
2. Before the top dries, arrange slices of apple or cheese on top of the pancake.
3. Wait until top of batter is dry, then flip over. (Don't toss these, the apple will fall out and fly across the kitchen and you'll feel like an idiot. Use a spatula.)

To bake bacon into the pancake:
1. Bake bacon in pan
2. Add pancake batter when bacon is crispy.
3. Bake pancake the regular way.

Word of warning: if you're making different kinds of pancakes with one pan, save the cheese and bacon until the end, because the taste will transfer to the next pancake made in that pan.
posted by easternblot at 8:49 AM on February 28, 2006 [1 favorite]

I know you're making your own pancakes, but in the spirit of this question, today is IHOP's National Pancake Day. You can get a free short stack.
posted by nekton at 9:52 AM on February 28, 2006

Cheers, am printing this list off, along with some links and will be trying some new things at home. Thanks to all for input.

US MeFites should note that they need to get to an IHOP before 2pm to get their freebies. As nekton points out I will, by necessity, be making my own - IHOP aren't as international as all that.
posted by biffa at 10:20 AM on February 28, 2006

rxrfxr: my relatives call it panakuchen, but I think that just means "pancakes".
posted by bonehead at 10:50 AM on February 28, 2006

Panqueques con Dulce de Leche

This is the most obscene dessert I've ever eaten: Fry the pancake (English/Crepes style) on one side, and then while you're frying the other side, add the Dulce de Leche, which then melts slightly and runs into the pan where it turns into toffee. I'm planning a trip to Argentina largely round this dessert.

(As far as desserts go, obscene is good. All this said, we just had ours with "traditional" sugar and lemon.)
posted by Grangousier at 11:02 AM on February 28, 2006

what is some good batter that makes light and fluffy pancakes?

Storebought or homemade recipe?
posted by Dreamghost at 12:20 PM on February 28, 2006

Nothing beats strawberry jam and cream, for my money.
posted by Effigy2000 at 7:38 PM on February 28, 2006

Nutella!
posted by omidius at 8:14 PM on February 28, 2006

Dreamghost: We used Delia's pancake recipe, Delia being a well known TV cook in these parts.

I've marked as best the answers that actually led to pancakes on plates, there were a few more we got ingredients for but didn't use as I went a bit over the top on the shopping list.

I really have to say aubilenon's recipe with the berries, sugar and run is amazingly good, especially with a dollop of ice cream for temperature contrast. Delicious.
posted by biffa at 1:52 AM on March 1, 2006

My sisters thought that the Green and Black's chocolate sauce with mascarpone was the best filling last night. Personally, I preferred cream cheese and icing sugar.
posted by handee at 2:10 AM on March 1, 2006

Bananas (or ripe plantains) and chocolate chips. Mix the chocolate chips into the batter, thent drop the banana slices in the pan and pour the batter over them so they get carmelized and gooey. Also I like to spread some peanut butter over top of these before pouring syurp on them.
posted by TungstenChef at 6:36 AM on March 3, 2006

Chop a banana in half and then slice it long-ways in strips. Brown these in a pan with butter and brown sugar. Pour in some rum (dark carribean or coconut rum) and light it. When the flames go out it's ready to serve. I usually do this on ice cream, but it would be nice on crepes too. With ice cream.
posted by kindle at 11:44 AM on March 10, 2006