Too-Sour Milk-Griddle Cakes: Did I Do Something Wrong...?

Ever since I read about Edna Lewis's Sour-Milk Griddle Cakes on The Wednesday Chef I've been anxious to make them. Luisa, the blog's author, made them sound irresistible - going so far as to claim that they were her and her honey's new favourite breakfast no less - and her pictures only added to body of convincing evidence that I would soon be blogging similar praises.

But it took me nearly a month to find out this would not be the case as the griddle cake recipe calls for cream of tartar and apparently there's a shortage of the stuff here in London.

For three weeks, I hunted for the slightly obscure cooking acid in every grocery store I entered, but to no avail. (Yet maddeningly, I kept coming across more recipes I wanted to make that required the ingredient, it was beginning to feel like mockery!).

Finally , the other day I came across the last pot of cream of tartar at the Canary Wharf Waitrose - along with a cute bottle of blackcurrant coulis that I thought would make for an appropriate accompaniment (on sale! a mere 75p! - and people wonder why I proselytize about the store...)

Anyway, so I excitedly dashed home, and woke up earlier than I ever normally would the very next morning just to make these griddle cakes...

And?

Utter disappointment! Was my pan too hot? Was my wheat flour to dense? Did I measure something wrong? (Was I even really working with bona fide cream of tartar? Hmmm....) Not only did they not cook properly... the 'sour' taste boasted about in the recipes' title was more off-putting than something to brag about.

Ah well... You win some you lose some... Even though I'm sure I did something wrong, I won't attempt these griddle cakes again just to find out.



Behold... the lone cake that even slightly resembled Luisa's end-product.

Just in time for V-Day... Blueberry Pancakes for Virgins

Happy Valentine's Day! Oh, if only I'd poured the batter for these pancakes in heart-shapes, I would have had the makings for the perfect V-day post. As it is, I'm just happy I remembered to grab the camera and capture the last two pancakes that remained of the entire batch before they too were devoured with glorious drizzles of hot syrup.

I made these wondrously fluffy blueberry pancakes last weekend for my friend Rohit, who (gasp!) had never before tasted this quintessential American breakfast fare (forgive him, if his name didn't give it away, he's from India). Never fear, I did cuisine-Americana proud - apart from a few over-cooked edges they were practically-perfect: slightly sweet airy cakes zinging with succulent bursts of tart mauvy berries.

My only complaint is that the two remaining pancakes that were photoed don't quite reflect the batch's divine nature. Fortunately, Rohit says, for the sake of a photo-op, he's more than willing to let me make them for him again. As someone who deems most "western" fare bland, unappetizing, and wholly in need of chili sauce, I consider this an enormous compliment and evidence of just how good these pancakes were.



Anne Spice's Blueberry Pancakes

This is a fantastic blueberry pancake recipe - in league with even the best of your buttermilk variety, without the buttermilk (after all, who ever has buttermilk on hand - or can even find it in your local corner shop for that matter?).

The trick is making sure all of the ingredients are room temperature so that the melted better doesn't separate and solidify - I put all the wet ingredients in the microwave for a few seconds on low so that the butter would mix in smoothly. As they always say with pancakes: Do not overmix - just barely combine, lumps are okay! Cook on low heat (to avoid my burned edges) for about 3 minutes on each side. Enjoy!

3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon milk
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter
As many fresh blueberries as you can pack in! (Aim for 2 cups)