Sour Cream Banana-Pecan Pancakes

Okay, so these aren’t exactly buttermilk pancakes, but surely sour cream and buttermilk are related enough for these to still qualify as a contender for great buttermilk-esque pancakes. Also, sour cream is excellent.

These pancakes are better if you are looking to make a smaller batch that is richer than typical pancakes, but not in an overly sweet, cloying way.  The original recipe suggests that you could somehow create 12 pancakes from this batter, but I am either making extremely over-sized pancakes or Ina Garten is making pancakes the size of pop bottle caps. I have made this recipe many many times and never once have I managed to get more than 7-8 pancakes from this batter (and that’s without having the initial pancake turn out hideously, which is very normal, and does not indicate that you are going to suck at making pancakes).  So perhaps double the amounts if you wish to feed more than 2-3 people with this recipe. I’ve made a double batch on numerous occasions and have never had any problems doing so.

Some delicious ways to tweak this if bananas are not your thing:

·      Diced/sliced peaches (perhaps blanch and peel the peaches for dicing as the texture of the skin could be odd inside the pancake)

·      The classic: blueberries (fresh will make less of a mess, but frozen will still taste delicious)

·      Diced/sliced mango (peeled), in which case it would seem like a great idea to reduce the vanilla to ½ tsp and in its place add ½ tsp coconut extract

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Slightly adapted from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa: Family Style)

Serves 2-3 people, but can easily be doubled and tripled as needed.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (measured correctly)
3 tbsp white sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ cup full-fat sour cream
¾ cup + 1 tbsp milk (preferably not skim)
2 extra-large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated peel from 1 lemon (use a microplane – one of my preferred inexpensive kitchen tools)
Roughly ½ stick of unsalted butter, more if you really go to town buttering your pancakes
6 ripe (not overripe) bananas, 4 should be peeled and diced
Maple syrup, to serve

Directions:

Set a sieve over a medium mixing bowl. Pour the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into the sieve, shaking to sift them into the bowl. In a large measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, milk, eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir as little as you can while still ensuring that the ingredients become combined.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a large skillet or on a flat-top, set over medium-low heat. When the butter begins bubbling, ladle or spoon the batter into the pan. Use a spoon to gently spread the batter into a circle that is as even as possible. Ina says she uses about ¼ cup of batter per pancake. I tend to eye ball mine and make them a bit bigger since I want to start eating pancakes ASAP.  Sprinkle the pancake(s) with the diced bananas (or other fruit – see above) and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until the surface begins to bubble and the underside of the pancake is looking golden-brown. Flip the pancake(s) and cook for 1-2 more minutes on the other side, until browned. Wipe the skillet/flat-top with a paper towel and add another tbsp of butter to melt. Repeat the cooking process until the pancakes have all been cooked. Keep the pancakes warm on a lined baking sheet in a low oven (200 F) as you finish cooking the rest.

To serve, slice the last 2 bananas and distribute among the pancake servings. Offer butter and maple syrup. Eat while piping hot.