Pancake day may have come and gone this year, but that's no reason to stop making them! Today I want to share with you how I came to create the Triple Berry Pancake Pizza. Looks good, doesn't it...
Here's how it really went down...
After
learning all I could about pancakes from Chef Adrian Richardson, he then turned the tables on us! The challenge was on...and Carolyn (
Desire Empire) and I had to select a mystery ingredient from underneath a tea towel, then create our own special pancake. Judging would be based on taste, appearance, and marketability. Seth selected the white bowls, which contained some lovely fresh raspberries...and the clock started ticking...
Thankfully they gave us a basic pancake recipe to start with! I would have been lost without it. Time to crack the eggs...do so while smiling at the camera, with little one watching on intently to see how it's done. Thankfully no shell ended up in the bowl! For a bit of hands on experience, I allowed Seth to crack open a few eggs into a separate bowl. He can now crack an egg perfectly! I highly recommend you buy some extra eggs and allow your kids to do the same. It takes the stress out of them trying to add eggs to the recipe you're currently working on.
Add the ricotta cheese to the batter, while wrestling with little one trying to stir with a whisk. Patience is a virtue here...
Hand the bowl and whisk over and allow little one to go for it...just remind them to be gentle so that batter doesn't go all over the kitchen.
Time to pose for another photo...I swear, Seth looks like he could be mine and Chef Adrian Richardson's love child! Freaky. Hubby, I promise he's all your's! lol.
Now that the batter has rested, and the pan is the correct temperature, gently pour the batter into the pan...then stand back and throw raspberries and blueberries in randomly! You will then realise that the raspberries are too big, and will need to cut them in half. Stick the knife right in the middle of the batter and chop. That's how the professionals do it...right? lol.
Onto the raspberry coulis and chocolate sauce. Having never made either, I was pretty much flying by the seat of my pants here. I added raspberries, caster sugar and a little water into a pan, then placed it over the heat to cook. Once the berries were soft, and the caster sugar dissolved, I then mashed the berries with a fork...and voila! Raspberry coulis done. Chef Adrian helped me with the chocolate sauce...placing the broken chocolate into a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Once melted, the sauce was ready. So super easy!
Time to plate up. I turned the pancake onto a plate, covered it in chopped fresh strawberries, and the coulis. Then melted chocolate was then drizzled over the top...try to get it on the pancake and not straight into one's mouth.
Seth garnished our pancake pizza with a sprig of mint (he really was taking notes from Chef Adrian earlier!). Time for judging...
Seth couldn't wait any longer, and had to try some...and so did I! It was so deliciously rich.
The judges huddled in a corner to make a decision, and low and behold...WE WON!! I was so shocked because I swore Carolyn's french crepes with banana and nutella was a definite winner.
I was rewarded with a Breville Crepe Maker...Seth was very impressed, and couldn't wait to get home to make more pancakes. It must have been the punchy recipe title that got us over the line. :-)
One last shot for the day...Carolyn, Chef Adrian and I...with what was left of our creations! I had an absolutely fabulous day in the kitchen....I should try it more often.
So, you want to know how to actually make my Triple Berry Pancake Pizza? Trust me...it's so delicious and easy.
Triple Berry Pancake Pizza
You will need:
- 1 cup self-raising flour
- 1/3 cup castor sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup of milk
- 250g ricotta cheese
- Fresh berries such as raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
- 3T caster sugar (for coulis)
- Water
- Dark chocolate (however much you want for your sauce)
- Butter (for pan)
Here's how:
- Combine self-raising flour and 1/3 cup of castor sugar in a large bowl
- Add egg, and mix together
- Pour a little of the milk into the bowl, whisking together. Add more milk, and whisk, until all of the milk has been added and the ingredients until smooth.
- Gently mix through ricotta cheese
- Allow batter to rest for 10-15 minutes
- Gently heat a large frying pan, coating the base with a nob of butter. When butter is gently bubbling, the frying pan is hot enough.
- Pour your pancake batter into the frying pan, then add some blueberries and raspberries to taste.
- While the pancake is slowly cooking...start your coulis and sauce.
- Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, then turn down to a simmer.
- Break up your dark chocolate and place in the glass bowl. Sit the bowl over the top of the simmering water, ensuring that the water doesn't touch the glass. Gently melt your chocolate...no need to stir. Once melted, it's ready.
- In another pan, place some raspberries, 3T caster sugar (or less...you might want to experiment) and some water (about 1/2 cup, maybe more, depending on how many raspberries you're using).
- Place saucepan over heat, and gently cook until raspberries are soft, and the sugar has dissolved. Mash berries with a fork and set aside.
- Don't forget to check you pancake! Gently turn the pancake over and cook until done.
- Turn pancake out onto a large dinner plate. Decorate with fresh cut strawberries, and raspberry coulis.
- Drizzle melted chocolate over the top and serve while hot! This pancake tastes excellent with a little double cream or icecream on the side.
- Enjoy!!
What are your favourite pancake fillings? Do you do much experimenting, or do you stick to the tried and true favourites?
For more tasty egg-based recipes, visit...
Disclaimer: I was not obligated to blog about this event. No money was offered, nor accepted for this post. All opinions expressed are purely my own.
