Based in Manila, Philippines, Dessert Comes First is a chronicle of the food-obsessed food writer, Lori Baltazar. This website is all about desserts, restaurants, coffee, and the pleasures of homebaking. Read more about me Flapjack stack
Tue, October25th of 2005
6:05 pm
I woke up grumpy as hell today. I was ravenous and someone in the household had eaten the last two buchis that I had reserved for myself the night before. I just hate it when my stomach is all geared up to eat something and it’s missing from the fridge.
With my stomach growling – a reminder that it needed to be fed – I perused the contents of the fridge, but nothing appealed to me. With me getting more irate by the minute, soon even I would give Grumpy the dwarf serious competition.
Might I be in the mood for French toast, perhaps? I didn’t want to make a coffeecake, and I just didn’t have the energy to get out of my pajamas and go out for some Danish pastries. I’m also not the type to have rice for breakfast, since I grew up on sugary cereals like Trix, Cap’n Crunch, and Frosted Flakes. Now, all the cereals I ever buy for myself are disgustingly fiber-dense things like Grape Nuts and bran flakes. Eck.
So I made pancakes. When I was a kid, my mom used to make plate-sized pancakes for my two sisters and me. There was always a side of bacon to go along with them and some Vienna sausages, those cute canned wieners that are capable of making anything taste good. I should ask my mom to make me those platter pancakes again sometime.
puckered up with butter and kissed with maple syrup
My previous pancakes always turned out brick-like, dense enough to leave some temporary damage to someone’s face. I sought to make pancakes that were fluffy, similar to the ones at Pancake House, which in my opinion, consistently serves the best pancakes in Manila.
Achieving light-as-air pancakes depends on the leavener used – baking powder and/or baking soda – as well as light-handed mixing. Overly enthusiastic mixing will only create gluten, which will make the pancakes tough.
The recipe I used called for both baking powder and baking soda as well as buttermilk. Buttermilk is not available in Manila, so I used a mixture of vinegar and fresh milk to come up with “clabbered milk,” an acceptable substitute. The acid in the baking soda gave the pancakes a coarser crumb, making them light with “bite.” The baking powder helped the pancakes rise, and the buttermilk contributed flavor.
After putting together the rest of the ingredients, it’s simply a matter of dumping the wet into the dry. A few seconds of whisking just until everything is incorporated is all that’s needed. A few minutes on a hot skillet, slap a pat of butter and douse with real maple syrup – that’s all I needed to make my house a Pancake House.
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Those pancakes looked just like those from pancake house!! Tomorrow, Im going to have some!!! Yr pancakes looked just soooo goooood!!!
[Reply]
Comment by sari — October 25, 2005 @ 8:16 pm
Oh my Lori, what was it with the weekend (or more correctly put — the past few days), people who love to play in the kitchen have been making pancakes! Including myself
hehehe!
[Reply]
Comment by mel — October 25, 2005 @ 11:53 pm
I have got to get cooking and baking again. It’s been too long.
And note to self: eat breakfast before reading your posts.
[Reply]
Comment by Eric — October 26, 2005 @ 6:49 am
the idea of vinegar in pancakes made my mouth pucker, and not in a good way. I should probably try it, but since buttermilk’s readily available to me, i don’t see that happening anytime soon.
i’ve been stalking you for about a week now, i think. i must say — i LOVE LOVE LOVE your blog. I happened by in the wee hours of the morning, read your writeup on Xocolat and was immediately hooked. You have a wonderful way of conveying flavor experiences through the written word, and the scrumptious pix complement that talent.
i hope you don’t mind that i’ve added you to my fave links.
[Reply]
Comment by faerah — October 26, 2005 @ 7:32 am
I also had a plate of pancakes, but at the hotel buffet (one of the better ones in the city), along with an experiment of toasted nuts (walnuts and macadamias), dried apricots, a pat of butter and some blueberry preserves in lieu of maple syrup. Your pancakes just made me hungry again for another set though!
[Reply]
Comment by Mila Tan — October 26, 2005 @ 10:24 am
Sari-
Wow, thanks. To say that my pancakes look like the ones from Pancake House is a huge compliment!
Mel-
I have no clue, and to think that I hardly make pancakes!
Eric-
Cooking and baking are technical skills. You must practice otherwise you’ll lose them. Besides, Christmas is coming and I want some of that bread you gave me before. :p
f-
Baking powder and baking soda need an acid to work properly, so the vingear serves a good purpose here.
[Reply]
Comment by Lori — October 26, 2005 @ 11:13 am
Hi lori, your pancakes look yummy! I think I will head over to the Pancake House after work
Im just wondering, what camera do you use? Your pictures look so good! For some reason, I cant take the same quality up close pictures with my current digicam. I know it’s so off-topic, but Id appreciate if you can tell me. Thanks!
— Bettina
[Reply]
Comment by Anonymous — October 26, 2005 @ 2:56 pm
I’ll remember that. Note to self: Bake golden honey bread for Lori.
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Comment by Eric — October 26, 2005 @ 5:52 pm
Bettina-
I use a Canon Powershot G2. People make fun of me because it’s such a huge camera, but it kicks ass! :p
[Reply]
Comment by Lori — October 27, 2005 @ 5:11 pm
ha! i’m just about to make pancakes right now! i normally use buttermilk (and if you can ever get your hands on some buttermilk, you just HAVE to try making pancakes with them!)
i’ll try the vinegar-milk mixture when i’m in manila
it’s funny… i think that was the first question i ever asked you! a replacement for buttermilk! hahaha!
[Reply]
Comment by darra — November 1, 2005 @ 7:00 pm