Cooking with Oma: Pfannkuchen

I can honestly say I have never tasted anything but perfection out of my mother-in-law’s kitchen. Not only are her meals delicious, she is a total whirlwind and I’ve learned over the years to let her be, for good reason! While there are times she more than generously shares her kitchen with me, there are some meals best observed in awe from a distance. Pfannkuchen falls into the latter category. In what seems like minutes, she whips farm fresh egg whites into snowy billows, watches over four sizzling pans at time, and produces picture perfect dinner plate sized puffed golden pancakes.

I will admit I am repeating a recipe from last May but truthfully it bears repeating! Last year’s version was filled with cherries direct from the backyard garden and this year’s behold handpicked gorgeous blueberries from France.

As I explained last year, one of the many nice surprises I had as a new member of the Hubele family some years ago was that sweet main course meals happened to be a specialty of this Schwäbisch region of Germany. Well how could I argue with tradition? These years with our family diet being plant based we stray just enough to honor tradition and partake annually in Sebastian’s favorite, pfannkuchen.

Here is the basic recipe for four meal-sized pancakes adapted for our family to be gluten and dairy free:

4 eggs separated
1/3 to 1/2 (90-125 ml) of a nut-based milk (I suggest almond or cashew milk.)
1-2 tablespoons of sugar (I suggest coconut sugar.)
1 cup (250 g) of gluten free flour blend
Pinch of salt
2-3 cups (500-750 g) of blueberries

Beat egg whites and the pinch of salt until stiff and dry and set aside. Beat the egg yolks and the sugar until thick. Whisk the flour into the yolks. Add milk gradually as the amount used will vary depending on egg size. Ultimately you want a thick batter that will mound when dropped from a spoon- not runny. Finally, gently fold beaten whites into the yolk based batter.

Heat on medium, similarly sized skillets having first added a bit of coconut oil to each one. When skillet is hot, divide batter evenly. Top with fruit, covering the entire surface as in the photo.

Cook on medium heat 3-5 minutes. When the bottom of pancake is golden brown and the edges of the batter are well set, flip using a dinner plate to assist, and cook another few minutes. Patience and a low to medium heat are important so the pancake will cook all the way through without burning.

Eat slowly and savor each bite!