Breakfast sounded like a good idea for tonight's dinner. Sausage patties and pancakes, with plenty of melted butter and warm maple syrup. I gave Gina several options for the pancakes - regular, blueberry or corn - and she opted for corn. I decided to really make them my own. Here's the recipe:
Steven's Buttermilk
Corncakes
2
cups unbleached, all-purpose flour, sifted
1 cup
yellow cornmeal
1
tablespoon baking powder, preferably aluminum-free
1
teaspoon baking soda
1
teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups
buttermilk
3
tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
Juice and grated rind of 1 lemon
1
15.25-ounce can corn, drained (or 2 cups of fresh corn, if available)
Vegetable oil + 1 tablespoon bacon grease or lard, for cooking
Unsalted butter + maple syrup, for topping
1) Gather all your ingredients:
Back row(l-r): flour, lemon juice and zest, buttermilk.
Middle row(l-r): baking soda, baking powder and salt, melted butter, vanilla extract.
Front row(l-r): cornmeal, corn, eggs.
2) Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl - the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well-integrated. Combine the wet ingredients (except the lemon juice and zest) in a large bowl - the beaten eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk well.
3) Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth. Add the fresh lemon zest and juice and whisk well. Fold in the corn with a spoon. Do not overmix the batter at this stage. There should be a fair amount of air whisked into the batter. Overmixing will remove the air and you'll get heavier pancakes.
4) Preheat the oven to 175ºF. Put a cookie sheet or plate in the oven to keep the pancakes warm, while you finish cooking. Place a cast iron skillet on the stove, over medium heat. To give the pancakes a little extra oomph! in the flavor department, add a tablespoon of bacon grease or lard (if available) to the skillet, along with the vegetable oil.
5) When the oil is hot, pour ¼-cup quantities of the batter into the skillet. I find three pancakes at a time to be optimal. When bubbles are first starting to appear, I like to rotate the individual pancakes 180
º so that they brown evenly. When more bubbles appear, turn the pancakes over. After a short time, rotate them
180
º. When they are browned, move them to the cookie sheet in the warm oven. Add additional oil, as needed during the cooking process, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue until all the pancakes are done. Makes about 18-20 4-5-inch pancakes.
These pancakes are just about ready to rotate.
I don't know about anybody else,
but it always seems the first batch doesn't turn out pretty...
This is what they're supposed to look like! Yum!
These corncakes were delicious. They are crisp on the outside and tender within, with just a hint of a grainy texture from the cornmeal. (I'm eager to make them with stone-ground cornmeal, but we're currently out) The corn were moist, sweet little nuggets throughout. We find that the combination of corn, lemon and vanilla form a trinity that is greater than the sum of the parts. They don't disappoint in this recipe, providing a wonderful, subtle note of citrus and vanilla. Definitely a make-again recipe!
Steven
