Hello, friends - and welcome back to a special, bumper edition of Taisty Bytes. To celebrate Pancake Day, I decided to challenge myself to make a different type of pancake every day for the whole week.
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Pancakes are one of those special, nostalgic foods for me. Whenever I have one, I’m always transported back to being a kid, sitting at our farmhouse kitchen table waiting excitedly for another to land on my plate. I can picture it now: my mum at the stove chatting away to my grandma who is totally oblivious and completely engrossed in The Weakest Link.
There aren’t many foods that hold this kind of magic for me, so it only felt right to dedicate some real time and effort to celebrating them. A single day just wasn’t enough!
And so, join me on a photo journey through the week and see what I was able to cook up.
Day 1: Dutch Baby
We’re kicking off this celebration with one of my all-time favourites: the Dutch Baby! This baked pancake is something like a sweet Yorkshire pudding - they’re super easy to make, no fuss and absolutely delicious.
The great thing about a Dutch Pancake is that you can pretty much throw any fruit or berries in that you have. For me, though - it’s got to be blueberries, every time.
Day 2: American Pancakes
For a lot of people, a ‘traditional’ pancake falls into one of two camps: crepe and American. One is made with plain (all purpose) flour, the other with self raising. Basically, one’s flat and one’s fluffy!
On this day I opted for the fluffier American-style pancakes as I fancied something a little more substantial for breakfast. And of course blueberry was the flavour of choice. Seriously considering growing my own at this point…
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Day 3: Spaghetti Pancakes
For day 3 I wanted to try something a little out there. I had heard of spaghetti pancakes before, so decided to give them a go. To make them, it’s your normal pancake batter ‘piped’ on to a pan in a spiral motion. I didn’t have one of those fancy chef-grade bottles, so I repurposed an almost finished bottle of honey, which just so happened to be a squeezy bottle. Worked a charm!
Don’t forget to throw in some raspberry ‘meatballs’.
I loved how these photos turned out.
Day 4: Stuffed Banana Mini Pancakes
I was looking for a recipe to use up some bananas and I wasn’t sure how to incorporate them into the batter when I spotted this one for stuffed mini pancakes. It stated that you could do this with any fruit you had but, it did remind me that I had seen someone use banana slices before - perfect!
A tip if you give this a go, the instructions are to give it a few minutes one side and then to flip and give it another minute. I found for the first handful that the batter around the edges wasn’t cooking enough - so I popped a lid over the top to trap the heat in, which worked.
Day 5: Pancake Sushi
With it being the final day of the celebration, I wanted to think of something special to do. This is an idea I have had for a while: sweet sushi rolls - so I thought why not do it with pancakes!
These are a standard crepe pancake filled with a Biscoff spread, banana slices, blueberries and crushed Biscoff biscuits.
I am honestly so chuffed with how these turned out - think they look visual ‘interesting’ but man, the flavours in each bite were just delicious.
I’ve shared the recipe below if you want to give them a go »
Recipe: Biscoff, Banana and Blueberry Pancake Sushi Rolls
Ingredients:
For the Pancakes:
100g plain flour
150ml milk (any type is fine)
1 medium egg
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp vanilla extract (I always use vanilla for added flavour)
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp melted butter (plus extra for the pan)
For the Filling:
2 tbsp Biscoff spread
1 banana, sliced thinly
50g blueberries
3 crushed Biscoff biscuits (keep some to garnish at the end, too!)
Method:
Make the Pancakes
In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another bowl, whisk milk, egg, vanilla and the melted butter until completely mixed.
Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking until you get a smooth batter.
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and wipe lightly with butter.
Tip: I wrap a slice of butter in baking paper and use this to wipe the pan
Pour in a thin layer of batter to make a large, flat crepe style pancake. Cook on one side for 1-2 mins until you get that nice golden colour, then flip and cook for another 30 seconds.
Transfer to a plate and let it cool slightly.
Sushi, Assemble!
Trim the pancake into a rectangle, as this creates a neater roll. Have a long side close to you.
Spread a thin layer of Biscoff spread evenly over the pancake.
Scatter banana slices and blueberries across the surface - leaving 1 cm of space at the edge closest to you and 2-3cm at the long edge furthest to you.
Sprinkle crushed Biscoff biscuits over.
Start rolling tightly from the longer side closest to you- this will give you more spirals when sliced.
Press the roll gently to seal and pop in the fridge for 10-15 mins. This will allow the rolls to firm up slightly making it easier when cutting.
Use a sharp knife to slice into sushi-style rounds, about 2cm thick.
Sprinkle with more crushed biscuits - and you’re done!
Poll
It’s poll time, friends! Which type of pancake do you think should make it on to the beandog menu? Cast your vote now!
Well, that’s all from me today, friends. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in my little corner of the world. I hope you’ve enjoyed today’s post!
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to download the Substack app - I’m active on Notes daily. (Notes is basically Substack’s own social media.)
Until next time, see you next week!
Mark + Hiro 🐾
Never heard of spaghetti pancakes! They look very good indeed
Just thought, the benefit of the pancake sushi is you could choose sweet or savory fillings.
Ricotta walnut and pear
Quark, smoked salmon and pickled cucumber
Chocolate spread, and apples