Five Star Pancakes
Upgrade your Pancake Day offerings this year with the help of some of Scotland’s best chefs…
Scott Davies, Head Chef, The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye
Douglas fir pancake, juniper, sea buckthorn & smoked streaky bacon
Sea buckthorn & apple curd
Ingredients
• 100ml water
• 450g Bramley apples, peeled cored and chopped
• 100ml sea buckthorn juice
• 125g butter, unsalted
• 450g sugar
• 4 eggs (200ml)
• 5g skye salt
Method
1. Cook the apples gently in 100ml water until light and fluffy.
2. Blend
3. Mix together with the juice, sugar, butter, salt.
4. Whisk over a double boiler, until 60°C degrees.
5. Whisk in the eggs. Keep whisking over heat until 82°C.
6. Pour into sterilised jars, top with wax paper, cool.
7. Keep for six weeks.
8. Refrigerate after opening.
Juniper infused maple syrup
Ingredients
• 8g crushed juniper berries
• 150ml pure maple syrup
Method
1. Mix ingredients together.
2. Bring to the boil and leave to cool.
3. Store at room temperature.
Douglas fir pancakes
Makes 12
Ingredients
• 170g self-rising flour
• 110g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• Pinch sea salt
• Whole milk
• 30g Douglas fir needles/young/new growth
Method
1. With a stick blender, blend the Douglas fir and eggs together for 30 seconds.
2. Leave to infuse for 20 minutes.
3. Mix together the dry ingredients.
4. Pass the egg through a fine sieve on to the dry ingredients.
5. Discard the needles.
6. Whisk together, add a splash of milk to loosen, so it’s a thick smooth batter.
7. Spoon a dessert spoon of the batter onto greased pan, over medium to low heat.
8. Cook until golden and bubble have broken on the surface.
9. Turn over and cook until golden. Serve warm.
Garnish
Ingredients
• 12 x Crispy smoked streaky bacon
Derek Johnstone, Executive Chef and MasterChef: The Professionals winner, Rusacks St Andrews
Buttermilk pancakes with vanilla cream, compressed strawberries and lavender.
Makes 18
400g Plain Flour
40ml Vanilla Essence
12g Baking Powder
100g Caster Sugar
300g Milk
300g Buttermilk
Salt
2 Eggs
6 egg whites whipped
Method
Sift together the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt.
Beat the eggs with the milk and then make a paste with the wet and dry ingredients. Pass through a sieve but not too fine that the sugar can’t get through.
Fold in the whipped egg whites.
Cook in a lightly greased frying pan until golden brown and bubbly then flip and repeat.
Vanilla Cream
1 x Vanilla Pod
200ml Double Cream
50g Icing Sugar
Method
Whipped Cream with icing sugar and vanilla to soft peaks.
Compressed Strawberries
200g Caster Sugar
200ml Water
Lavender Dried
Vanilla Pod split
Method
Bring the sugar and water to the boil and add the vanilla and lavender. Allow to cool. Add the washed and halved strawberries. Allow to soak in the syrup over night
Serve 3 pancakes with some birch syrup topped with strawberries, whipped crème and lavender.
Pancake Topping Ideas
Ross Sneddon, Executive Pastry Chef, Rocco Forte's The Balmoral, Edinburgh
‘I like to make a vanilla soufflé pancake which is a classic crepe filled with vanilla soufflé mix and baked so that the soufflé mix rises to form a light and fluffy filling. Serve this simply with fresh Meyer lemon curd at this time of the year for a showstopper on Pancake Day if you fancy something more challenging!’
www.roccofortehotels.com/hotels-and-resorts/the-balmoral-hotel/