Blackberry German Pancake with Toasted Almonds
current situation: blackberry german pancake
The most dramatic of the lot, and the least work. Blackberries hold more juice than any other fruit that goes in one of these and they bleed further — that magenta staining across the whole surface is the berries doing it, not anything you arranged.
They go on frozen or straight from the fridge, and on top of the batter. A cold berry sinks more slowly and bursts later, which gives the batter time to set around it instead of going soggy underneath.
Toast the almonds separately. Slivered almonds scattered on raw and baked go from pale to burnt in about ninety seconds and you cannot watch them through an oven door.
- Feeds
- 4
- Hands-on
- 15 minutes
- In the oven
- 22 minutes
- Berries
- Cold, on top
What you need
The batter
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup flour
- 2/3 cup whole milk, warmed
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 tbsp butter, for the pan
On top
- 2 cups blackberries, cold or frozen
- 2 tbsp sugar, to scatter
- Zest and juice of half a lemon
To finish
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted in a dry pan
- Icing sugar
How it goes
1 — Batter blended smooth, rested thirty minutes
All of it in a blender for twenty seconds, then left alone on the counter while the oven and the pan heat.
2 — Toast the almonds first and set them aside
Dry pan, medium heat, three minutes shaken constantly until they are straw-coloured and smell nutty. Out of the pan immediately.
3 — Skillet in a 425°F oven for fifteen minutes
The pan has to be as hot as the oven or the pancake does not climb.
4 — Butter foaming, batter in, berries scattered on
Butter swirled until it foams, batter poured in, then the cold berries dropped over the top and a little sugar over them.
5 — Twenty-two minutes and leave the door alone
Berries slow the set, so it wants a couple of minutes longer than a plain one. It rises around them and the batter goes purple where they burst.
pro tip — If a berry sinks straight to the bottom it was too warm. Next time, straight from the freezer.
6 — Lemon zest and juice over it hot
Both, across the whole surface, the moment it comes out. Blackberries without acid taste flat and jammy; with lemon they taste like blackberries.
7 — Almonds and icing sugar once it has sunk
Two minutes to settle, then the toasted almonds scattered over and a dusting of icing sugar. Served in the pan.
Current situation. Nothing on this site is this purple. LFG.