Fluffy pancakes with maple syrup & fresh fruit

You might have read about a veritable epiphany I had when we recently visited New York. When you've been brought up in Austria, chances are that through all of your childhood the only things that made it to the breakfast table were rye bread, butter and jam. Some cold meats or sausage, if you were lucky. On weekends, my parents would splash out on a selection of the close to 50 (maybe more?) different breadrolls on sale in about every bakery. Oh and I forget! Of course I grew up in the 70s, so towards the latter part of that decade, there was the inevitable short spell of muesli fanatism as well...
It was only when I lived in Mexico that I discovered the joys of a cooked breakfast. Alongside the mouth-watering local varieties, the so-called "hotcakes" (American: pancakes) also featured on our menu every once in a while. Unfortunately, they were not made from scratch, but a batter-mix out of a box... so it was not until this spring that I understood the concept of pancakes. I mean American pancakes. We do pancakes (Palatschinken) in Austria, but they're more like a French crèpe - thin and crispy. Nothing like its American sister.
Fluffy and moist, soaked in the most delicious maple syrup (I must make sure to source a good one over here soon, let me know if you have suggestions!) and topped with gorgeous fruit, this was something I had to try at home. Surprisingly, I succeeded at my first try - they were fluffy alright, but they did not as pale as the ones at Bubby's. For my second attempt, I omitted the egg yolks (a weird American habit I had observed over there), et voilà! A new breakfast favourite was born!

Fluffy pancakes with maple syrup & fresh fruit
(serves 4 - 8 pancakes)

150 g flour
1 tsp salt
50 g sugar
2 level tsp baking powder
2 egg whites
320 ml milk
1 pinch cinnamon (optional)
butter for frying
fresh fruit (I used bananas and strawberries)
maple syrup and icing sugar (optional) to serve

Mix all the ingredients but the egg whites well, then leave to stand in the fridge for about 15 - 30 minutes. Beat the egg whites until very stiff, then fold them into the batter with a fork.
Heat some butter in a pan (I bought myself a small, non-stick pan of ca. 10 cm), then spoon in some batter. The amount is up to you, it will depend on how big your pan is and how thick you want your pancake. According to the thickness, you will also regulate the heat, cooking a thicker pancake slower (on less heat) than a thinner one.
Make your pancakes one by one, reserving the ready ones in the warm oven.
When ready to serve, dust with icing sugar (if using), pour over some maple syrup and top with fresh fruit.

Comments

[AugustusGloop]

Yum! I'll take hotcakes over crepes anytime! I'll have to try the egg-yolk omission trick. Makes perfect sense... why didn't I think of that before?!?

[Andrew]

I am probably being a bit of a clot but what type of flour and why did you omit the egg yolks?

I have just received my bi-weekly veg box and it included some lovely plums and raspberries so thought I could make these.

[johanna]

Hi Andrew, I used plain (wheat) flour, but you can certainly use self-raising as well. Might not need as much baking powder then. I omitted the egg-yolks just for appearance's sake, the ones I tried in New York were whiter than the first round I made. I didn't miss the yolks a bit. But I can assure you that they taste great either way...

[Chris]

Hi Johanna,
thanks for this great recipe - thanks to you we had a perfect (American) breakfast this morning! Never ever had thought to leave the yolks away. Even if the texture of the cakes in the pan was a bit fluent (it made turning the round guys a bit... challenging), the final result in combination with (organic) maple sirup was just a revelation!

[johanna]

yeah, i also think maple syrup is amazing... i should use it much more! try and get organic MS, it's even better, but you will have to keep it in the fridge.
i use a very small pan (20cm) and have special omelett turner/spatula which is round and almost the size of the pan... really makes a difference! glad you like the recipe!

[Reviewer11]

That sounds so delicious! I would like to try it out. :)

Is there a sweet bread that looks like a pancake? If so, what is it called? :)