Breakfast (or brunch, if the case) is my favorite meal of the day. That’s the moment when I don’t feel guilty even though I indulge in some crunchy French toast which if floating in pure maple syrup, a rich omelet with extra Comte cheese, a fresh steamy bread with lots of melting butter and sour cherry jam or my weekly treat, Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes! Yes, the pancakes are weekly as the whole family loves them. 

My recipe brings you pancakes that are so fluffy you could swear you took a bite of a cloud. Ok, maybe I exaggerate a little but definitely you must try them. The below recipe I developed after many tries of different ones, which would promise cloud-alike, airy pancakes but the results were far from it. Step by step, week after week, I changed, took out or introduced elements for the best result. I pair them with my (and my family’s fav) mascarpone cream, fresh berries and maple syrup. I mix the mascarpone with orange zest so, even though we are in full summer, the beginning of spring or end of fall, I feel there’s a Christmas celebration on my plate. Would you feel the same? Let me know! And don’t worry about leftovers, you can give your kids an after lunch treat with some melted chocolate or enjoy the pancakes next morning with some jam. Decadent! 

I often follow steps 1, 2 and 3 from the Method the night before I want to serve the pancakes, cover the flour and buttermilk mix with plastic foil, refrigerate overnight and continue with the rest of the process in the morning of serving, for a quicker breakfast or brunch.

Method:

1.     In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

2.     In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolks. 

3.     Mix together, but not very thorough, the flour and buttermilk compositions.

4.     In a medium bowl, beat until foam all the egg whites. 

5.     Gently fold 1/3 of the egg white foam into the flour and buttermilk mix, then repeat with the second and last third. It’s important to do this process slowly so you won’t take out the air from the batter.

6.     Preheat an electric nonstick Pancake Maker or a nonstick pan over medium heat (nonstick it’s essential so you take out the usage of extra butter/oil for frying).

7.     Using a small ladle or a bigger spoon, pour the batter into small circles and leave to cook on one side until bubbles appear on top, around 1 min. Turn and cook for another minute. Repeat until you finish all the batter.

8.     For the cream, mix very well with a spoon the mascarpone, sugar (if you want a sugar free option, you can leave it out, works great without, especially if you top the pancakes with maple syrup) and the zest from 1 orange, clementine or mandarin (they all taste fantastic).

9.     On a plate, arrange layers of pancakes and mascarpone cream. Top with fresh berries or whatever fruits you enjoy and drizzle some decadent maple syrup.

Enjoy and let me know if these mouthwatering pancakes deserve to be called Zelidecious!