These buttermilk pancakes are a long-standing favourite in the Fern House Café in Kilmacanogue. Pancakes are such a treat and are even made more so with fresh blueberries, berry compote and a macadamia nut praline. Here’s the recipe to the Fern House Pancakes.
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Fern House Pancakes Recipe by Avoca
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 430g plain flour
- 85g icing sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 4 eggs
- 550ml buttermilk
- 55g unsalted butter a splash of sunflower oil
- 120g fresh blueberries
For the macadamia praline:
- 100g macadamia nuts
- 160g caster sugar
- 50ml water
- ½ tsp butter a pinch of flaky sea salt
For the berry compote:
- 250g fresh or frozen strawberries
- 60g fresh or frozen raspberries
- 60g fresh or frozen blueberries
- 50g caster sugar
To Serve
- Greek Yogurt
- Maple Syrup
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a small baking tray with non-stick baking paper and have it sitting on your countertop, ready to go for the praline.
- Scatter the macadamia nuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until light golden.
- Meanwhile, put the sugar and water in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. Allow it to cook without stirring until it begins to turn a medium-brown colour. This could take up to 10 minutes. It will continue to cook and reach a deeper brown, so don’t let it go too dark. Turn off the heat and swirl the melted sugar gently around the pot – don’t stir it or the caramel might clump up.
- Once the caramel is ready, add the butter and allow it to melt, swirling to combine, then add the toasted macadamia nuts. Immediately pour it out onto the baking paper and spread it out with a spatula as best you can, then sprinkle with a pinch of flaky sea salt and let it cool. Caramel is molten hot, so do not be tempted to lick the spoon! Once the praline has cooled and hardened, break it into small pieces and set aside
- To make the berry compote, put all the berries and the sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, crushing the berries with a wooden spoon. If using frozen berries, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes to thaw the berries, then remove the cover and continue to simmer. The compote should be reduced and thick, more like a syrup than a jam, and it will thicken as it cools. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- To make the pancakes, sieve the flour, icing sugar and baking powder together into a large bowl.
- Whisk the eggs and buttermilk together, then fold this into the dry ingredients until you have a smooth batter but take care not to overmix or your pancakes will be tough.
- Melt some of the butter and a splash of oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Working in batches so that you don’t overcrowd the pan, add spoonfuls of the batter and cook 1 minute before sprinkling a few blueberries on top of each one, pushing them down gently into the batter. Cook for about 2 minutes more – when you see bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, flip them over and cook the other side for 2–3 minutes, until golden. Repeat with the rest of the butter and the batter.
- To serve, stack up the pancakes on plates and spoon over some Greek yogurt and berry compote. Drizzle with maple syrup and top with the macadamia nut praline.