HEAVENLY HOTS

SOURCE: MARION CUNNINGHAM. THE BREAKFAST BOOK.

Marion Cunningham ventured into restaurant consultancy in collaboration with John Hudspeth to operate the breakfast-only Bridge Creek after the commercial success of her two Fannie Farmer cookbook series. Responsible for concocting recipes and designing daily menus for the establishment, she, along with the chef, Bob Burnham, popularized irresistibly featherweight sour cream pancakes about the dainty size of a silver dollar coin. Secret to its levity relies on ignoring the conventional ratios of flour gluten to sugar to eggs, which surgically thins and loosens the batter to mimic the body of a blini. Heavenly and hot, indeed!

Ingredients

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon/3 grams baking soda

1/2 teaspoon/3 grams salt

1/4 cup/30 grams cake flour

2 cups/480 mL sour cream

3 tablespoons/38 grams sugar

OPTIONAL: Maple syrup

OPTIONAL: Whipped cream

Specific Equipment

Large mixing bowl

Wooden spoon

Nonstick griddle OR skillet

Turner

Makes 50 to 60 2.5-inch/6.4-cm pancakes

Instructions

1. Stir the eggs, salt, baking soda, cake flour, sour cream, and sugar in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until well blended.

2. Set the griddle or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and drop in small spoonfuls of the batter, spreading each to 2.5-inch/6.4-cm rounds. Cook for 30 seconds or until few bubbles appear on top of the pancakes and the edges begin to look dry. Flip the pancakes over carefully with a turner and cook for 15 seconds or until the pancakes have puffed up.

3. Remove the pancakes from the griddle or skillet and set aside. Repeat Step 2 for the remainder of the batter until all of it has been exhausted.

4. Drizzle the pancakes with maple syrup and spoon over a dollop of whipped cream, if desired.