Since moving to Japan, I have found that my level of craftiness in the kitchen has increased quite a bit. It is not as convenient (or cost effective) to go to the grocery store and buy ingredients that were commonplace in our kitchen in the U.S. I am grateful for this because it has lead me to developing more unique, interesting recipes that utilize ingredients in new ways. Jam, for example, can become a salad dressing with the addition of a little oil and vinegar. Honey can become more than a sweetener for tea, adding a healthier, natural sweetness to both sweet and savory dishes. Yes, these are things I could easily have learned in a book but to be honest, it is much more fun to make discoveries like this on my own. I also find that I am able to remember these new cooking tricks if they are learned through discovery.
Today, I wanted to share a couple of examples of turning something ordinary into something a little more special. One thing we do not keep in the kitchen is maple syrup. It is relatively expensive to buy and we do not use it very often. So, using my whole wheat pancake recipe, I wanted to show three different ways to top them off (sans maple syrup) and add a little twist to the batter itself. These ideas are simple and I hope you will be able to develop some of your own creative additions and share your ideas as well.
The first variation mixes lemon zest into the batter of the pancakes. The topping consists only of powdered sugar and lemon juice. The flavor that results is light, slightly sweet but not overpowering, and it looks gorgeous on the plate.
Second, I took a seasonal fruit, the persimmon, that is everywhere here in Japan right now and added a drizzle of cinnamon infused honey. Persimmons have a consistency similar to a peach, but are slightly less sweet. The bright orange color of the persimmon with the golden brown of the pancakes also makes a beautiful presentation. In the batter for these pancakes, I added 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. The spices worked beautifully with the fruit and honey topping.
The last version is just as simple as the first two examples. Using about 1/3 cup of your favorite jam, stir in a teaspoon of cinnamon and a tablespoon of honey and stir to combine. The consistency thins out slightly, making it more like a syrup, and it is wonderful drizzled over the pancakes and topped with a creamy white dollop of creme fraiche and sprinkled with a little nutmeg. I used apple jam for the pancakes in the photos here, but any type will work just fine. As with the batter in the persimmon topped pancakes, I added cinnamon and nutmeg to these as well.
I hope these ideas help to inspire you to create your own toppings. It is so fun to work with a recipe like this that can be altered slightly to produce something completely out of the ordinary (and requires minimal work!)
For the whole wheat pancake recipe, click here.
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