Refreshing citrusy pancakes for breakfast
MANILA, Philippines – Lemon is a universal favorite flavor for any sweet treat — cakes, cupcakes, bars, cookies, breads, pastries, even sherbets and frozen desserts. It is a light, citrusy flavor that cleanses and refreshes the palate. There is no heaviness, no feeling of indulgence, just fresh flavor that is always welcome in a tropical country such as the Philippines.
“I love lemon desserts because they give sweet treats a fresh, fruity flavor,” said Mama Sita’s marketing executive and weekend kitchen warrior Ces Nepomuceno-Gamad, who also runs Beranda Café in the UP Diliman campus.
So, when her neighbors gave her more than a kilogram of lemons recently but she had very little time to bake, she added some of the fresh lemon juice to her pancake batter — and made a lemony topping for it, too! — for a quick and bright brekkie. Her Lemon Pancakes turned out to be so good, so citrusy, and so refreshing.
Lemon Pancakes
Ingredients:
For the pancakes:
1/4 cup sugar
2 medium-sized eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsps. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Lemon zest from 2 pcs. lemons
For the topping:
A few slices of lemon, seeds removed
1/4 cup honey
Procedure:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, and milk until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice.
2. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest.
3. Pour liquid mixture into the bowl with flour mixture. Gently fold together until just combined. The batter should be nice and thick, not too runny and not too sticky. A few small lumps are perfectly fine.
4. Heat a flat pan or griddle over low to medium heat. Spoon batter onto the hot pan. When bubbles start to form on the surface and the edges look firm, flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
5. In a small dish, add seeded lemon slices to the honey. Stack the pancakes, pour the honeyed lemon slices over the top, and enjoy with coffee.
Makes 8 small pancakes
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