I’ve been thinking about starting a new recipe series for a while, including my favorite childhood food, traditional German dishes that my grandmother used to make for me. I’ll call this series the German Classics. Cheesy? Maybe, but this is my blog after all!
The first recipe is for German Pancakes. They’re quite different from US-style pancakes, thinner, bigger, and more like French crepes. The dough for the pancakes is rather simple, just like a blank canvas for the various fillings.
Pancake with strawberry jam
Here’s what you need:
- 2 cups flour (I used 1 cup white and 1 cup whole spelt flour)
- 4 eggs
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- canola oil for the pan
Put the flour into a big mixing bowl. Add eggs, milk, sugar, and salt. Whisk for a few minutes until all the clumps are gone. You will need some elbow grease for that part! The resulting dough will be very thin. Set aside for a few minutes.
Pour a little bit of oil into a large frying pan and heat it up on high. When the pan is hot, reduce to medium high heat. Pour a ladle of pancake dough into the pan and quickly spread around. Fry for a few minutes until the surface of the pancake looks dry and set. Then flip the pancake and fry for a few minutes more, until the whole pancake is slightly browned.
Place the pancake on a plate and keep warm, e.g. in the oven set to the lowest temperature. Continue until the dough is used up.
Now the pancakes are ready to be filled and served. You can use anything you like! One of my favorites is good old strawberry jam. Nutella and sliced banana? Yes, please! Brie cheese and cranberry sauce? Yummy! Apple sauce and cinnamon? Oh my! Just get creative, anything goes!
As the pancakes are not very sweet, you can also try a savory filling, like cheese or sautéed vegetables.
Pancake filled with Emmental cheese
The recipe above makes quite a big batch. If you have some leftovers, cut the pancakes into thin stripes and store them in the fridge in an airtight container. Next time I’ll tell you what to do with those stripes, so stay tuned!
See you!
[...] my previous post of the series I talked about Pancakes, and also mentioned that if you have some leftovers you should cut them into thin stripes and store [...]
[...] I don’t know why, but I have been craving pancakes lately. German pancakes are quite different from the American version, as they are thinner, bigger, and a little bland. They are like a blank canvas, ready to be filled with all kinds of delicious things, either savory or sweet. This time I decided to fill them with cheese, served with a quick tomato salad on the side. Believe it or not, I even have a recipe for my favorite pancakes! [...]