Pancake Battle

Some of you may remember the pancake debate which pervades the Tropical Vegan household, which I have mentioned previously on this blog. I am still firmly in support of light, fluffy pancakes.  Andy tolerates them, but still prefers thin pancakes. 

However.  I recently grabbed a Hungarian cookbook from the library, and saw a recipe for thin pancakes that intrigued me, and looked easy enough to veganise.  That, and their suggested fillings, had me scribbling down some recipes to try out.  So we tried them.  And I think I don't dislike thin pancakes the way I used to.  Part of this has to do with technique -- I think I've finally figured out how to make thin pancakes that don't suck.  Instead of trying to do the pan-flick that spreads the batter around, which I suck at because 1) my pan is the wrong size and shape, 2) I'm not quick enough and 3) I lack the requisite style in the kitchen for that sort of cooking, I have adopted a method of spooning in the batter and spreading it thinly with the back of my spoon.

That said, I still like fluffy pancakes best.  Here are recipes for both versions.  Where do you weigh in on the pancake debate?

Thin Hungarian Pancakes
250 g. flour
pinch of salt
2 t. sugar
1 T. egg replacer powder
200 mL soy milk
1/3 c. water
3 T. rice bran oil
150 - 200 mL soda water

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar, and egg replacer powder.  In a jug, combine soy milk, water, and oil, then add this to the dry ingredients.  Beat to a smooth batter, and then whisk in soda water until you have a creamy consistency.  You should be able to pour/drizzle a spoonful of batter, so if it is too thick for this then whisk in a bit more soda water.  Leave to stand at least 10 minutes.  Brush a skillet with a tiny bit of oil and heat over medium-high.  When the skillet is fully heated, spoon in a small amount of batter and immediately spread it into a thin circle.  Cook till golden brown on both sides.

Makos Palacstina (Pancakes with Poppy Seed filling)
1 c. ground poppy seeds
1/2 c. icing sugar
1 t. vanilla
100 mL soy milk
1/4 c. raisins

Heat milk in a small saucepan.  When milk is hot, add poppy seeds, icing sugar, vanilla and raisins.  Stir well, then turn off heat, cover the pan, and let this sit for 10 minutes (while you cook the pancakes).  To serve, spoon into pancakes and fold or roll up.

Fluffy pancakes

3/4 c. plain flour
1/2 c. plain wholemeal flour (or use all plain flour)
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
2 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1 1/3 c. soy milk
1 T. apple cider vinegar

1/3 c. water
2 T. rice bran oil


Combine flours, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon and mix well until no lumps remain.  In a jug, combine soy milk, vinegar, water and oil.  Add this to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until just combined.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Heat a skillet over med-high heat.  When skillet is fully heated, spoon a small amount of batter into the pan.  Cook until bubbles appear and edges dry out, then flip and brown on the other side.

Now that we've got two good recipes, we're both happy to compromise on our pancake preferences -- but as the principle pancake maker, fluffy is still my default.  What can I say -- when you've got the recipe memorised, it's easy to make them without even thinking.