Apple Pancakes

I have a confession to make.  I have a secret obsession… with cooked apples.

I don’t know what it is, but I’ve never really hankered after raw apples.  They’re hard to bite, and the acid sometimes gives me a stomach-ache.  And I don’t really like the chewy, waxy peel on a lot of supermarket apples.  I’ll sometimes munch on a good Gala or Fuji, but raw apples just aren’t my thing.

Cooked though – something magical happens to apples when they’re cooked.  The sugars intensify, and they get a perfect, soft, slightly al dente texture that’s just unparalleled in any other cooked fruit, in this girl’s humble opinion.

When I was in college, I used to go to this little café called The Future Bakery, located in The Annex in Toronto.  It was a cute, intimate place where you could sit with a good cup of coffee for hours, chatting with friends, or studying, or reading a book.  They had a student discount – any all-day-breakfast item for $3.89.  Two of their menu items were must-haves: the Eggs Benedict (such perfect, swirly poached eggs!), and their Apple Pancakes.

They had the only pancakes I knew of that included thinly sliced apples in the batter, and they were delicious.  The apples, just cooked through, had that slightly al dente texture that just MADE these pancakes, and the golden brown, crispy edges rounded off the perfection.  Couple that with a hot cup of coffee, and you’ve got paradise in a meal for a starving college student.

So, today I had a couple apples left over from that yummy apple cake, and decided to try my hand at reproducing The Future Bakery’s apple pancake recipe.

For the batter, I used Robie’s Buttermilk Flapjack recipe from Saveur, and then tossed in some thinly sliced apples.  The result – ALMOST what I remember from the Future Bakery.  A couple things were missing – the wide-eyed naiveté of my youth (a whopping 6 years ago!), the buzz of newfound independence, and an essay deadline looming the next day.

Apple Pancakes
Inspired by The Future Bakery, Batter from Saveur

The key to the apples cooking through is to slice them very thinly, and to make sure they form a single layer (more or less) in the pancake.  You can do this by mixing the apples right into the batter, glopping them onto the skillet, and then rearranging everything with a spatula before the batter has the time to set.  Or, if you’re a bit OCD, you can keep the apples separate, and arrange them on each pancake once you’ve poured the batter into the skillet.

2 apples, thinly sliced
2 cups flour
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. fine salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 beaten eggs
oil for frying

Whisk together dry ingredients – flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, combine wet ingredients – buttermilk, butter, vanilla and eggs.

Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir together until just combined.  Add sliced apples, and mix gently.

Over medium heat in a non-stick skillet, heat up about a tablespoon of oil for each pancake.  Add about ½ cup of batter for each pancake, and fry them one at a time, flipping once, until golden brown on both sides.

Eat immediately, or if you’re planning to share, serve hot with your choice of toppings (we like them slathered with blueberry/raspberry jam).

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