Your kitchen will smell wonderfully festive while making these delicious pancakes that are like little gingerbread cakes. Great for brunch or holiday gatherings. Double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd.
Yields 18 pancakes; 1⅓ cups syrup
Serves 4 to 6
Time: 40 minutes
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2½ cups all-purpose white flour (or 1½ cups white flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1½ cups buttermilk
⅓ cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup butter, melted and cooled, plus extra butter for the griddle
Make the lemon syrup: In a small saucepan on medium heat, combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, and nutmeg. Stir in the water until the mixture is smooth. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cook, stirring until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Cover and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.
Heat the griddle on medium-low heat, and using a spatula, spread a teaspoon of butter over the surface. Pour on ⅓ cup of batter for each pancake. When you can slide the spatula under the pancakes and the bottoms are starting to brown, flip the pancakes over and cook the opposite sides for about half a minute. Keep adding more butter to the griddle between batches.
We think you’ll enjoy the easy lemon syrup drizzled on these pancakes, but of course maple syrup is good as well, or even just a dusting of confectioners’ sugar. Or top the pancakes with sautéed apples or warmed pitted cherries or peach slices along with the lemon syrup.
Probably the only other thing you might want with this special pancake brunch is cold orange juice or hot apple cider.