Ginger Pancakes…best pancakes, ever

I’m not a huge fan of pancakes and I’ll be honest…I hadn’t heard of Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday until just this week. But the Homesick Texan served up some some delicious looking Ginger Pancakes that I knew I had to make. You see, I’m a Ginger freak. I’ll try almost anything if it involves Ginger.

Last night, much to my chagrin, it snowed about 7 inches or so. Before that we had a thaw that practically eliminated the snow. Winter is fine, cold temps are okay, but I hate snow. However, it did give me the perfect reason to make HSTs Ginger Pancakes. Now if you read HSTs post on her Ginger Pancakes you will find that these pancakes have a long history of deliciousness at the Magnolia Cafe in Austin, TX. But I’m not a Texan and I cannot under any circumstances put brewed coffee in pancakes I want my sweet GH to eat. So some modifications to the original recipe were in order.

My sous chef today was the delightful Dexter. His skills include measuring, sifting, cracking eggs, whisking, and gently mixing. He’s very useful to have around plus he was really jazzed about the concept of Ginger Pancakes. GH was outside blowing snow, Alex was shoveling the deck so the dog could get out, and Dex did the pancakes while I instructed and cooked bacon. Once he got our solids measured and sifted and the liquids thoroughly combined he gently folded the liquids into the solids and then we saw that we would need to add more liquid. The HSTs original instructions indicate that the batter will be thick but mine was way too thick. So we added some more Half & Half and it seemed right. I put the pecans in the toaster oven and the oven was preheated to keep the pancakes warm while we cooked them. It was go time. They definitely cook up thick and cakey. But boy, oh boy…they are light and tasty and topping them with maple syrup and toasted pecans made all the difference….they were fabulous. I’ll be making them again, but next time I think I’ll increase the amount of Ginger I use.

Ginger Pancakes
adaptated from The Homesick Texan blog
and the Magnolia Cafe in Austin, Tx.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups Half & Half
3 eggs
1 tablespoon plain yogurt
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg

Melt the butter, add the Half & Half, the eggs, the yogurt, and sugar and mix well. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine the two gently and then judge if the batter is too thick. It should be thick but have some movement. I ended up adding another 1/2 cup of Half & Half.

Cook them on a hot griddle or pan. I make a landing place of a cooling rack on a cookie sheet with a clean tea towel to keep them warm and I put them in an oven that was heated to the lowest temp and then turned off.

Serve with maple syrup and toasted pecans. Enjoy.

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24 February 2007 | baking, breakfast, eggs, cheese, dairy, food, recipe, spicy, sweets | Comments