Monday, June 4, 2012

Mixed Berry Pancakes with Brandy Syrup

After making Cherries Jubilee, I got thinking about other liquer-soaked desserts I could make.  At first, I presumed that a Cherry-Kirschwasser combination would be good with a slightly sweet cakey bread.

Then I thought pancakes.

Then I thought blueberry pancakes.

Oh, then strawberry pancakes.

With liquer?

Maybe another fruity brandy?

Brandy's good.

...

Now that you see how my mind jumps around from place to place on a semi-regular almost-constant basis, you can see how this breakfast dish originated.

Mixed berry pancakes?  Oh.my. So good.  Just like every other "mixed berry" creation on the planet.

Brandy?  What a nice bite to accompany the sweet, fruity syrup.

The best part, I think, about these pancakes (besides the taste, obviously) is how versatile it can be.  There are a bajillion combinations of berries that you can use to customize your pancakes.  Maybe you just want blueberries and some blueberry syrup.  Or, maybe raspberries and strawberries together with blackberry syrup.  Maybe you want to throw in every berry flavor you can find.  Custom pancakes.

The only bad part about this is convincing people that brandy at breakfast can be perfectly normal.

What is normal, anyway?  Right?



Mixed Berry Pancakes with Brandy Syrup

Pancakes:
2 cups fresh or thawed mixed berries, roughly chopped
3 cups flour
2 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Brandy Syrup:
(adapted from Cherries Jubilee)
2 cups pureed berries
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 cup berry-flavored brandy (I used blackberry)
1 cup whole mixed berries



For the pancakes, whisk all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth.

Ladle batter in small increments onto a greased skillet or griddle over medium heat.

Watch for bubbles to accumulate on the top of the batter before flipping.  Flip and cook until the other side is golden brown.

For the syrup, combine the berries, sugar and and lemon zest in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken some.

Add the whole berries and brandy.  Light the mixture with a long matchstick to flambe.

Pour the mixture over the pancakes.  Top with whipped cream.



Listening to:   Jessica Simpson - Irresistible

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