Scotch Pancakes & Caramelised Bananas

I tweeted the other day, "Thinking of pancakes maybe, if I wake up early enough tomorrow."

WELL. I woke up late as expected, and didn't feel like starting the day in the kitchen. So we lunched out, did our stuff and when we got home, it was just in time for tea. That's when I thought pancakes would still be a great idea. Don't you love all-day breakfast? :)

Minutes later, we had these nice and warm scotch pancakes with caramelised bananas on the side ... and it really does take mere minutes to get these done. I washed them down with tea, and knocked out after that. Hee hee! That's my idea of a perfect weekend - eat, shop, sleep ... repeat.




These pancakes were made using Gordon Ramsay's recipe. I haven't tried that many pancake recipes, but this is my favourite, so far. I like that:

(1) You are supposed to mix the batter till it's lump-free. Lump-free ... don't you just love straightforward recipes? Some tell you not to overmix because the pancakes will be rubbery, and it's ok to see small lumps in the batter, or it's fine to have streaks of flour, blah blah blah ... and that makes me all confused;

(2) There is no baking soda (like Nigella's version - I hated the soapy taste in those pancakes); and

(3) There is good ol' buttermilk to fluff things up.

Plus, it's always a pleasure watching Mr Ramsay do his thang. :)

Recipe
(originally from Gordon Ramsay, and seen at lifestylefood.com.au*)

* Note: The recipe has already been downsized, so the measurements are different from what is mentioned in the video.

For the Scotch pancakes
- 100g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 80ml buttermilk (pour 80ml of whole milk and add 2 tsp fresh lemon juice)
- 50ml cold water
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- Sunflower oil (or any neutral flavoured oil), for frying



1. To make the pancakes, sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the middle. Whisk the buttermilk and water together. Pour the eggs into the middle of the well, followed by a good splash of the buttermilk mixture.
* I did everything in my measuring cup, as you can see in the photo.

2. Gradually start to incorporate the flour into the wet ingredients, by whisking from the middle and working your way outwards until you have a thick but smooth paste. Now start to add the rest of the buttermilk mixture, adding just a little at a time and whisking thoroughly between each addition, until you have a smooth and lump free batter.

3. Heat a large heavy based frying pan and add a couple of teaspoons of sunflower oil. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper to grease the base of the pan evenly with oil. Pour a small ladle of the batter into the pan for each pancake. Fry for 1 minute until golden brown underneath, then flip over and cook for a further 45 seconds to 1 minute on the other side (they should puff up). Continue with the rest of the batter, frying in batches of 2-3. Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven.

For the bananas
- 4 large, just ripe bananas, sliced lengthways
- 50g caster sugar
- 50g unsalted butter
- Good splash of rum
- Vanilla ice cream to serve (optional)
- 2 teaspoons water



1. For the bananas, sprinkle the sugar into a heavy based non-stick pan and melt the sugar over a moderate heat. Once the sugar has completely melted, turn the heat to high and cook to a mid-golden brown.

2. Stir in the butter then add the bananas and toss to coat in the caramel. Cook for 1-2 minutes until slightly golden and just tender (check with the tip of a palette knife). Now pour in the rum and flambé, tossing the bananas around the pan. Once the flame subsides, add a splash of water, remove from the heat and stir to loosen the mixture.
* I skipped the flambé part because I didn't want to risk burning my house down (where am I going to live?!). I removed the pan from the fire, added the rum, and then cooked till the alcohol evaporated, then added the water.

3. Serve pancakes with the bananas and vanilla ice cream on top. Drizzle with the caramel sauce from the pan and serve straight away.



Just drizzle the caramel sauce and it's ready to eat! No ice-cream for me, I'm on a diet. OK, who am I kidding? Ice-cream was finished up the day before! Boo hoo!