Anne Quatrano’s secret to perfect pancakes is probably already in your kitchen, or a slow simmer away. “One of the best ways to get a crispy and flavorful pancake is to cook it in clarified butter instead of shortening or whole butter,” says the Atlanta chef. She would know; at her new restaurant, Pancake Social, breakfast is an all-day affair, and pancakes are the main event. To make clarified butter (also known as ghee), simply melt butter in a saucepan on the stovetop, and then strain to remove the milk solids. (Or, if you’re feeling impatient, just buy it.) “With clarified butter, you get that great butter flavor” Quatrano says, “and the pancake gets just how I like it—crispy on the outside, and a little moist and spongy on the inside.”
Pecan Praline Pancakes
PRALINE SYRUP
1 cup pecan butter (no added sugar)
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted pecan halves
PANCAKE BATTER
2½ cups organic pastry flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups buttermilk
8 eggs
4 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Clarified butter, for cooking
Preparation
- For the syrup: Combine first three ingredients in a sauce pan and warm over low heat. Add pecan halves immediately before serving.
- For the pancakes: In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs, and then slowly whisk in the melted butter. Do not over mix.
- Gently combine wet and dry ingredients.
- Bring pan* to medium heat and brush with clarified butter. Fill halfway with batter and cook until the batter is slightly bubbly on top and the bottom is golden brown. Flip and continue to cook until the pancake is puffed and bouncy to the touch. Turn out onto baking rack. Place rack over a baking sheet and keep warm in a 200 degree oven. Repeat.
- Serve a stack of three with pecan syrup.
- *NOTE: For the optimum shape and texture, Quatrano recommends cooking these pancakes on single egg pans.
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