When I moved to England 11 years ago I learned that (among other words I was mis-representing) pancakes were in fact not the light and bouncy cakes of my youth smothered in Aunt Jemima maple-esque syrup and butter, but in fact what I knew to be crêpes. And although I would trade a limb for a piping hot buckwheat galette filled with ham and cheese, nothing says breakfast to me like these fluffy disks of what is basically cake for breakfast topped with something sweet.
So whatever coast you come from, I hope you will enjoy the simplicity of making this for breakfast and the etherial marriage of rose with rhubarb. The rhubarb tastes of nothing in its raw form, but assumes a delicate, refined and utterly unique sweetness when cooked, which complements rose essence perfectly, since it does not mask the flavour of the rhubarb , but instead adds the benefit of a floral bouquet on the nose.
-Matt Miller
For the conserve
400g (one large bunch) rhubarb finely chopped
1/4 cup stevia or sucralose sweetener
1/2 cup rapadura or coconut sugar
1 cup water
1/2 lemon
1 tbsp vegetable gelatin
1/2 tsp rose essence
Place rhubarb and sweetener and water over medium heat in a saucepan
Squeeze in lemon juice being mindful of the seeds. Add lemon rind and gelatine
Simmer on med/low for 20 mins while preparing the pancake batter
Once the cake batter is made remove lemon rind and add rose essence
**TIP Serve hot for a thick sauce consistency. Place remainder in a jar and close lid tightly. allow to cool completely in kitchen before placing in refrigerator. Will keep for several weeks unopened and is amazing in toast cold or can be reheated to use as a thick sauce.
For the pancakes
1 cup white spelt flour
4 tsp rapadura or coconut sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup full fat gold top milk (or even better goat or cashew milk)
Plus an extra 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
Butter for frying
Blend all dry ingredients excepT sugar together in a bowl
Separately Mix whisk egg and sugar together until the sugar in dissolved. Then add the cup of milk and blend. Bow here is the trick to perfect pancakes - getting the right batter consistency. What is the consistency of your batter? It should be thick like hot lava. So not runny like thick honey nor gloopy - but just in-between. So use you extra milk to get it just right.
Heat one or several non stick skillet pans ( if you want to multi-task! ) on med-high and swirl around a tsp of butter evenly. Use a ladel or pour in your batter to get the size disk you want and then keep that consistent thereafter. When the pancake begins to bubble it is time to flip with a spatula to the other side which will be about half the time as the first.
Serve immediately or hold in a warm oven until ready to serve.
**Tip For extra extra fluffy pancakes you can take one extra step ( but absolutely not necessary ) and separate the white from the yolk and whisk it to soft peaks. Gently fold the egg white in to the batter as you last step.
Our Tudor recipe inspiration:
From The Compleat Cook, Anonymous (1658)
To make fine Pan-cakes fryed without Butter or Lard. Take a pint of Cream, and six new laid Egs, beat them very well together, put in a quarter of a pound of Sugar, and one Nutmeg or a little beaten Mace (which you please) and so much flower as will thicken almost as much as ordinarily Pan-cake batter; your Pan must be heated reasonably hot & wiped with a clean Cloth, this done put in your Batter as thick or thin as you please.
