Apple Pancakes with Burnt Figs and Thyme Scented Caramel Sauce

A little late but I've been busy eating pancakes, perhaps you might like to do the same this weekend. Yes it's another apple bake recipe, but here we are. We all have our favourites.

Do you remember The Pancake Parlour? Aussie readers will remember the Aussie icon. Born of a dream, as many restaurants are, the chain of restaurants featuring pancakes of all guises and many Aussie favourites cloaked in some type of pancake was originally inspired by a very pancake heavy road trip along America’s east coast by a trio of Aussie friends and remains family owned to this day. Melbourne’s first outlet of the iconic house of fluffy deliciousness was in the CBD at the top end of Bourke street and opened in the late 70’s. Bourke Street cuts a swathe through the centre of the CBD playing host to some of the biggest retail and hospitality outlets Melbourne has to offer and consequently carries large volumes of foot traffic and the greatest attractions for a day out in the city.

Times were simpler in the early 80’s and school holiday outings and activities were that rare combination of uncomplicated and exciting. A train ride to town, a walk around the department stores and a movie filled a full day and to a small child felt like the most exciting of excursions. Crowds would bustle about in the big department stores responding to announcements calling shoppers to ‘spotlight specials’ drawing savvy shoppers rushing to nab a bargain. Tram bells dinged as the clattering of the heavy cars carried passengers around the city blocks like a soundtrack as we would walk up the hill to the cinemas to catch the latest block buster released just in time for school holidays. An outing all the more exciting and seemingly glamorous to a child for it’s city location. As the movies would come to their climax and the curtain would draw closed tummies would rumble somehow in sync with the end of the film signally time for the last and possibly most exciting part of our big day out….lunch.

Famous in Melbourne back then was the large cafeterias in the department stores, a self-service buffet of sorts where you’d walk along with your tray choosing your food and paying for your selection at the end. The passage of time and rise in hospitality saw the demise of these iconic simple offerings but in their stead was family style restaurants, queue that pancake wonder at the top of the hill.

I still remember my first visit there. A fluffy potato pancake topped with cheese my selection, an item that remains on the menu today, was met by my saucer sized eyes as I excitedly armed myself with knife and fork. I’d never tasted anything as pillow soft, the perfect balance between salty and a tiny bit sweet with a hint of crunch from a grilled cheese outer, the pillowy inner almost dissolving on the tongue. Even then as a perhaps nine or ten year old I was obsessed and wanted to recreate them at home, or rather wanted Mum to make them. But this is where Australia’s ‘culinary heritage’ comes in. Many of you will remember what I call Aussie pancakes. You remember them, the not quite crepe, not quite a pancake discs of the 70’s and early 80’s. Made with plain flour and milk, sometimes an egg as well, they were perhaps the consistency of thick cream as a batter but not too thin like a crepe batter would be. Almost a little rubbery in texture they were cooked to a blond colour, rolled up and served with lemon and sugar or jam. Maple Syrup hadn’t quite landed on our shores but the hints of euro influence from our migration perhaps leant us in the direction of those two options or maybe they’re just uniquely Australian. Nonetheless that’s what many Aussies knew of pancakes, and what my family thought of when pancakes were on offer. Short of buying the packet mix available at Pancake Parlour restaurants the secrets to fluffy thick stacks of pancakes was quite the mystery to many Australian cooks and definitely to my mum.

However with the rise of American tv shows, accessibility to travel and interest from the fast growing restaurant chain our pancake proclivities shifted and a love of those melt in mouth American style pancakes shoved our little thin discs off their mantle.

So fast forward to my 20’s and I figured out the foofy pancake with both the rise of recipes and a bit of my own growing knowledge. A pancake breakfast on the weekend became our thing with the indulgence of proper maple syrup, not the maple ‘flavoured’ type, topped with berries or banana slices. I then went on to add the buttermilk variety to my repertoire and proper crepes stuffed with savoury fillings.

I haven’t been to a pancake parlour since my boys were little, it is somewhat of a rite of passage. But what I have taken from their menu is their innovation and inspiration to try bits and bobs in the mix and this is the perfect time of year to do just that.

This is one of my favourite times of year for food, one season’s produce wanes while peaking in flavour after weeks in warm ripening sun and the next season’s produce is emerging. Thus my delicious apple creations served topped with jammy ‘burnt’ figs and drizzled with thyme scented caramel sauce. You might like to try it for an indulgent weekend brekkie or perhaps serve to friends for a flavourful dessert served with a dollop creamy vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:

Sauce

80 gm unsalted butter

80 ml thickened cream

125 gm brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla paste/extract

2 sprigs of thyme leaves stripped

Pinch of salt or to taste

Figs sliced in half, at least one per person or as many as you late summer/autumnal heart desires

Pancakes

1 C self raising flour

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ bicarb soda

¼ tsp salt

1 Tb caster sugar

1 egg separated

150 ml milk

1 tsp vanilla paste/extract

20 gm butter melted

1 apple peeled and grated

Butter extra from greasing the pan

Method:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, cream, vanilla, sugar and thyme. Bring to the boil then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Turn heat off and leave it to cool in the pot to room temp.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl set aside. Place the egg white in a medium bowl whisk the egg white to stiff peaks set aside. You can do this in a stand mixer or with a stick blender or hand beater if you like but for one egg white I just do it by hand. You do you. Finally in another bowl or jug whisk together milk, yolk, melted butter and vanilla.

Whisk together milk mixture with dry ingredients until combined. It will be like a stiff cake batter. Fold through the grated apple then gently fold the egg whites into the pancake mixture trying to retain as much air as possible. Allow to rest while you cook the figs.

Place a medium to large fry pan on a medium-low heat and grease generously with butter. Place figs cut size down and cook for five minutes to gently char, remove and keep warm on a plate. Wipe out pan with paper towel then return to heat and grease with butter. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop out mixture and drop into pan. Leave until bubbles appear across the surface of the pancake and the edges are cooked, flip gently. Cook until second side is also golden brown, keep warm while you cook the remainder of the mixture. Depending on the size of you pan you’ll be able to cook 2-3 pancakes at a time.

Serve either on a platter for your guests to serve themselves or in a stack topped with figs and caramel sauce.

You may need to briefly and gently warm the sauce slightly to serve if it has thickened too much on standing to pour.

---

Finds & Foray’s

Reading:

~Turkuarz Kitchen by insta sensation Betül Tunc. Her heartfelt stories and stunning photography illustrate the most delicious bakes from both her Turkish heritage and ones she’s learnt as her passion has grown. It’s a very instructive book with Betül holding your hand with detailed but easy to follow instructions.

~The Island Getaway by Lucy Diamond. No judgement, everyone has their guilty pleasures and a bit of chick lit is mine. Set on a Greek island in the resort the story brings together the threads of the stories of guests and staff from the resort with all their ups and downs and triumphs. A fun bedtime or summer read. It is still summer after all.

Eating:

~A little spicy tomato relish I whipped up inspired by last week’s jam cook up.

Would you like the recipe?

~This delicious spicy Korean style sauce I discovered at the local farmers market last weekend. It’s the perfectly balanced combination of a sweet and smoky sriracha style sauce handmade here in Melbourne. It’s quite addictive.

If you also have an addiction to apple bakes you might like to try this one two.

Wishing you a delicious weekend friends, enjoy the sunshine if it finds you.

S x