Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Buttermilk Syrup

Brunch in the springtime is an obsession for me.  It's just so fitting, right?  Blooming flowers, fresh air, perfect weather, and ripening berries ... makes you want to enjoy!  

The blueberries at Wilson Farm looked amazing yesterday.  Had to get some, and M could not have been happier.  Proximity to Wilson Farm is one of the best things about where we live.  Fairly reasonable prices for top-notch produce and artisan breads and cheeses.  In the autumn there are hayrides for kids and, true to the region, hot fresh apple cider donuts.

My brunch obsession is also rooted in my husband's schedule.  Because his days off are rare, I like to go all out when he does have one.  I'll often wake up before the baby, happy and excited.  Then I'll start scheming and cooking based on what we have on hand.  I usually finish up around 10 a.m. and I'm happy to offer my sleep-deprived sweetheart the best reason I can concoct for him to get out of bed.  I do this every single morning he has off, unless we go out to brunch.  I love it.  (Although I'm wondering if I'll be able to keep it up once we have two kids).

Finally, and more recently... my "morning sickness" usually starts up around 10 am and gets worse All. Day.  Long.  So breakfast has been my only enjoyable meal for some time now.  I am utterly, completely out of dinners that sound even remotely appetizing.  But that's a topic for another blog entry, one you can read at your own risk.

Today's finds were unanimously deemed blog-worthy (even Baby M agreed...).  I had extra buttermilk and sour cream and figured there had to be a way of combining these with blueberries for T.D.F. results.  I scanned a few recipes and finally settled on this one.  Oh my.  I doubt I'll ever make pancakes that don't call for sour cream and buttermilk again.  These were *perfect*.  So light and with just the right flavor.  I'll be using this base from now on, whether I add blueberries or not.

De-lish!

This was my second time making the warm buttermilk syrup and I implore you to try it. It's SO easy to make - throw a few ingredients in a saucepan and simmer 7 minutes, done.  And it just adds more flavor dimension than maple syrup, which has always been a little too sweet for me.  It's got somewhat of a caramel taste, and the leftovers are amazing in coffee.  It's perfect on any type of pancake but I think you'll agree if you try this combo:  Blueberries, buttermilk, and sour cream were destined for each other.

Buttermilk Sour Cream Blueberry Pancakes

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt (a pinch)
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup blueberries (do not add more)

Combine dry ingredients in bowl; whisk to blend.  Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl; whisk to blend.  Combine wet and dry ingredients with whisk.  Fold in blueberries.  Heat a griddle or pan to medium-high heat, and lubricate as desired (I used PAM).  Spoon desired amount of batter onto griddle. Once pancake has set, reduce heat to fairly low for even cooking.  You want to start out hotter so that the batter doesn't spread too far, but the reduce heat so you can cook through without burning the outside.  Flip when bubbles appear.  Flipping works best if you use one extra wide "pancake" spatula (like the one mentioned here) and one regular spatula.

Please heed the above advice about adjusting the heat on these pancakes.  They are a little fussier than most - but well worth the extra effort.  

Warm Buttermilk Syrup

3/4 cup sugar
half as much buttermilk (half of your 3/4 measuring cup)
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp light corn syrup (don't bother measuring; just squirt it in)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

In a saucepan, bring everything to a boil, and simmer 7 minutes.  Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Leftovers may be reheated or added to coffee for a "caramel macchiato" effect.

Brunch away!

Mango-Blueberry Muffins with Lime-Almond Glaze

These.  Were.  AMAZING.

They take a little more effort than classic blueberry muffins but are well worth it.  Tangy but still sweet, unique, a bit tropical... perfect.

If you use fresh mangoes (which I did) you'll need to make sure you have 2 ripe ones on hand - the original recipe gives the option of using frozen, but I can't vouch for that since I haven't tried it.  Plus, what's better than fresh mangoes??  I recommend using "champagne mangoes" - the yellow, flatter kind.  March is really the month for mangoes; they're pretty much the only seasonal enjoyment I take at a time when I'm usually SO done with winter weather.  You can still find them right now though... try to buy them yellow and wait until they're just getting soft and having a slight bit of give.

Here's a great video on how to best cut a mango.  I find that once I slice off the two big, flat pieces, it's best to cut those into strips and then use a knife to scrape the skin off the strips.

Here's the recipe, adapted from About.Com South American Food.  It makes 21 muffins.

For the Muffins:

• 2 and 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 cup cubed mango, fresh or frozen (I used fresh - 2-3 mangoes)
• Juice of 1 lime (a little over 1 tbsp) - juice a fresh lime, it's worth it**
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)

For the Glaze:

• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 3/4 tsp almond flavoring
• 2-3 tbsp milk or cream, depending on how thin or thick you want it
• 1-2 pinches salt
• Coconut shreds or sliced almonds for garnish, if you wish

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.  Line muffin tin with paper liners.  Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, whisk the egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla.  In a blender or food processor, puree the mango with the lime juice until smooth.  Gently mix the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until just barely mixed.  Toss the blueberries with 1-2 tbsp flour to coat; gently fold into batter.  Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, almost to the top.

Bake at 425 for 5 minutes, then lower temp to 350 and bake another 10.  Check for doneness; muffins should be domed on top and firm or spring back to the touch.  If not done, bake another 5 minutes until done.

Cool muffins while you make the glaze.  Melt the butter, and whisk in the powdered sugar, milk/cream, lime juice, salt, and almond extract.  To glaze, you can either place the glaze in a bowl and dunk the muffin in top down (if it's a thinner glaze) or frost like a cupcake.  We LOVED this glaze and we preferred frosting it with slightly thicker glaze.

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream Cake

I know strawberries aren't in season yet (what, June is still 3 months away?) but right about this time of year I start craving the fresh flavors of spring and summer and yesterday I just had to jump the gun.

I chose this recipe because very little is added to the whipped cream to stabilize it.  Other recipes I found called for mascarpone cheese or cream cheese... I just wanted the pure, fresh flavor of berries and cream. Plus, this recipe has a great tip for stabilizing whipped cream so that you can use it in place of frosting on any cake you want.  My family's birthday tradition has long been a chocolate cake with whipped cream frosting - love that I can now make my own from scratch.

Last, I love that it uses a from-scratch butter cake.  Shortcake is so often plain and dry.  This was the perfect texture and oh-so-moist... especially after drizzling the bottom layer with the strawberry juice!

NOTE:  If you do prefer a cream cheese whipped topping with your berries and cake, Allrecipes has a very good "Sturdy Whipped Cream Frosting" recipe - just omit the almond extract.  It's fantastic on chocolate cake too.

Fresh Strawberries and Whipped Cream Cake

Got rave reviews from my husband's colleague and her husband, who had us to dinner last night.

For the Butter Cake:

• 3 tbsp (approx) unsalted butter, for greasing pan
• 3 tbsp four, for dusting pan
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick + 1 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup caster "superfine" sugar (baking section - Domino's box looks like this)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup whole milk

1. Try to allow time for the butter, eggs, and milk to come to room temp.  If that's not possible you can gently nuke them in the microwave in 10 second increments, but be very careful with the eggs because they cook FAST that way.
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Using a small pastry brush and melted butter, butter bottom and sides of an 8 inch round cake tin.  Alternatively, you can use a paper towel with the butter to grease it on as well.  Line bottom of tin with non-stick baking or wax paper; butter paper and then flour bottom and sides of tin.
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium-sized bowl.  Whisk to well combine, set aside.
4. In a mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy.
5. Add the eggs and yolks, one-at-a-time, beating well after each addition.
6. Reduce the stand mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the milk in 2 additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the flour; beat until just combined (do not over-mix).
7. Pour batter into prepared cake tin.  Spread evenly.
8. Bake 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. 
9. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in tin for 10 minutes.  Remove cake from tin and return to wire rack to cool completely.

Before baking.

After.

For the Strawberries and Cream:

• 1.25 lbs or about 20 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled (green removed) and thinly sliced
• 1/4 + 1/4 cup castor/superfine sugar (see above link)
• 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream, cold
• 1 teaspoon unflavoured gelatin (aka gelatine) - baking aisle by jell-o

1. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the strawberries and ¼-cup sugar; set aside.
2. Place two tablespoons cold water into a small-sized saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin; let soften 5 minutes.  Place saucepan over low heat, and stir until the gelatin is dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.
3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk the heavy cream and the remaining ¼-cup sugar until very soft peaks form.
4. Continue to whisk, and gradually add the gelatin mixture; beat until soft peaks form.

Soft peaks.  Don't let it get too stiff.

For the Assembly:

1. Using a long serrated knife (like a bread knife) carefully cut the cake in half horizontally.
2. Place the bottom half, cut side up, on a cake stand or plate.
3. Drizzle the juice from the berries onto the cake.
4. Evenly arrange half of the strawberry slices over the bottom cake layer.  Refrigerate the remaining berries.
5. Top the strawberry layer with half of the whipped cream, leaving about a 1 inch border.
6. Place the top half of the cake, cut side down, onto the layer of strawberries and cream.
7. Top the cake with the remaining whipped cream.
8. Refrigerate the cake at least 1 hour, up to 1 day max.
9. Just before serving, top the cake with the remaining chilled strawberries.

Sliced down the middle and drizzled with fresh strawberry juices.

First layer of strawberries.

Alternate view.

First layer of whipped cream.

Ready to refrigerate until until dessert time!

SO GOOD.