Buttermilk Pancakes

Went to the grocery store yesterday to pick up all the stuff needed to bake for the photoshoot (I'm so excited!).  As usual, I woke up at 6am this morning to bathe and feed baby no.2 before putting her back to sleep. Since there's still time to make breakfast, I decided to make some pancakes.


My all-time fav: Buttermilk Pancakes dusted with icing sugar

 

With maple syrup & salted butter

that's her favorite!

This is so quick and easy to prepare! The trick is to use a good non-stick pan and cook it over low-med heat (it gets burnt very easily). The recipe is adapted from Joy of Baking and is one of the trusted few websites I visit rather frequently (There's also a video that you can watch and follow closely!). I've posted the recipe below for your easy reference.

Buttermilk Pancakes Recipe:

1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
3 tablespoons (40 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Plus extra melted butter for greasing the pan.

Buttermilk Pancakes: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and melted butter. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and then pour in the egg mixture, all at once, and stir (with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon) just until combined. The batter should have some small lumps. (Do not over mix the batter or the pancakes will be tough.) (The pancake batter can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.)

Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat until a few sprinkles of water dropped on the pan or griddle splatter. Adjust the temperature as needed. Can also use an electric griddle with the temperature set at 350 degrees F (180 degrees C). Using a piece of paper towel or a pastry brush, lightly brush the pan with melted butter or oil (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray.)

Using a small ladle or scoop, pour about 1/4 cup (60 ml) of pancake batter onto the hot pan, spacing the pancakes a few inches apart. When the bottoms of the pancakes are brown and bubbles start to appear on the top surfaces of the pancakes (2-3 minutes), turn over. Cook until lightly browned (about 1-2 minutes).

Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with melted butter or oil between batches.

Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup or your favorite jam.

Makes about 8 - 4 inch (10 cm) pancakes.

Cookies+Fondant

Made these for my niece's birthday last weekend.

Sugar cookies decorated with fondant (home-made) and sprinkles (store-bought)

Photos and stickers courtesy of The Hubby.

This is for my cousin Lucinda who's very interested to know how I made these. I just followed the Wilton recipe that came with the mini cookies cutters I bought at Shermay's but with a little tweak of my own. Makes about 30 cookies.

Sugar Cookies Recipe

115gm unsalted butter, softened at room temperature for about 30mins
140gm caster sugar
1 tsp clear almond extract
1/2 tsp clear vanilla extract
180gm all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Half an egg (I used 25gm out of 55gm egg measured on a digital scale but you may well use your own judgement)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and extracts. Add the flour mixture into the mixing bowl, 1 cup at a time, and mix until smooth or dough-like.

For this recipe, you do not need to chill the dough (although many recipes call for it). After mixing, roll out dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Dip cookie cutters into flour before each use. Place cookies on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 6-7 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove tray from oven and leave cookies to cool slightly before removing them from baking sheet to cool completely on cooling rack.


Marshmallow Fondant Recipe (adapted from Cake Journal)

128gm regular/white marshmallows
1 tbsp water
250gm icing sugar, sifted
Crisco for greasing hands, mixing spoon and worktop
Food colors (I used wilton gel paste) or cocoa powder

Put the marshmallows in a heatproof bowl and add the water. Put the bowl in the microwave oven and heat it on high for approx. 30 secs. Stir the marshmallows until smooth and sticky. This is the time where you can add your chosen food color/cocoa powder or give it flavour.

Now add the icing sugar and stir the mixture with a well greased spoon. Keep adding icing sugar until it looks like a dough. Turn out the “dough” on a greased work board and with your hands greased with Crisco start kneading the marshmallow fondant. Keep adding the icing sugar a little at a time until it is not sticky anymore.

Be careful not to use all the icing sugar as too much icing sugar can make it too dry. It is ready when it feels pliable and ready to roll. If you are not using the marshmallow fondant straight away, rub a bit of Crisco on it and wrap it in cling-film and seal it in an airtight bag.

Or to save yourself some trouble, just buy a pack of marzipan (aka white fondant) at any supermarkets. To colour the marzipan, use a toothpick to dip into the gel paste (a little goes a long way) and put it on the marzipan and knead till there's no visible streaks left.