Pancakes, Good Ol' Semi-cake-like Pancakes

Pancakes are something we all have had.  With this said there are hundreds of variations of pancake recipes that will make the pancake more cake-like, fluffier, thinner, or whatever the chef desires.  For me, I really love a good fluffy buttermilk pancake that can just soak up a great Canadian Maple Syrup.  However, the technique and/or time to get the pancakes the perfect fluffy consistency and reproducible has been something that has eluded me.  I'm definitely going to have to experiment with the elements to give a buttermilk pancake.

However, one thing I have been able to get down to really well is a cake-like pancake.  Still not incredibly dense, but a lightly sweetened and able to be made in less than 15 mins for a stack, these are great for a Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast. The pancakes keep incredibly well, so you can make a lot, refrigerate them and re-heat or eat cold when desired!

Pancakes all made up and ready to eat!

What food stuff you will  need for the pancakes (~10 to 12 mid-sized pancakes):

1.5 cups all-purpose flour (sifted is desired, but it's a necessity)
3 teaspoons baking powder heaping
3 tablespoon white sugar
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.25 cups milk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Small amount of vegetable oil to spray onto the pan
Optional: 1/4 cup pureed fruit, chocolate chips or something else to give a flavoured pancake

What "equipment" you will need for the pancakes:
1 cup measure
1/4 cup measure
1 tablespoon measure
1 teaspoon measure
1 large bowl
1 small microwaveable bowl
1 frying pan

Directions:
1. In a large bowl sift flour and mix in baking powder, salt and sugar.  

Dry ingredients sifted into bowl

2. Take the butter and melt it in the microwave.

 
3. Make a small indentation in the centre of the dry mixture and add the egg, melted butter and milk. Mix the ingredients until smooth with a whisk.

Addition of the egg

All wet ingredients have been added and batter is starting to be mixed

4. Once the mixture is homogenous, add the vanilla and stir again to make sure the vanilla is fully incorporated and the pancake batter is completely smooth.

Adding in vanilla

5. Started heating the frying pan on a medium-high heat and let the batter sit at room temperature for 3-5 min. (if you're going to add a flavour item to the pancake, this is the time to add it)

Fully mixed and resting batter

6. Spray or pour a small amount of vegetable into the frying pan to just coat the bottom of the pan.

7. Using a 1/4 cup measure, pour 1/4 cup portions of the batter into the pan trying best not to make each pour run into each other.

Cooking pancakes measured out with a 1/4 measuring cup

8. When the pancake starts to bubble (about 1-2 min), flip the pancake and cook for another 2-3 min.

9. Remove the pancakes from the pan, and continue cooking the pancakes until they are all made.

A stack of freshly made pancakes

10. Plate pancakes and enjoy with some maple syrup, fresh fruit and fresh whipped cream (see recipe on a previous post).

Pancakes with strawberries, fresh whipping cream and medium Canadian maple syrup.  It tastes just as good as it looks.

If you cook the pancakes longer, all that happens is they get a bit crispy on the outside.  However, they'll still be moist and cake-like in the middle.  The sweetness of the pancakes can be easily cut down to 1 tablespoon; however, I find with 3 tablespoons they're great to grab on the go after they're cool.  On that note, the pancakes keep extremely well in the fridge for several days and can be heated up for a quick breakfast or severed cold with a bit of jam or nutella for tea or a snack.

As always, keep experimenting in the kitchen!

The Canadian Cooking Chemist

The celebrations of birthdays

This week, tomorrow in fact, is my birthday.  Even though my birthday hasn't happened yet, festivities and surprises have already begun, starting on Friday last week. I have the pictures made and the recipe made up for a great "Olde Fashioned Pancake" recipe that is very forgiving (just like the waffles).  But as a result of all the libations, I haven't had a chance to format and write the text for the post.  I've been assured that Wednesday will have no surprises and the celebrations will be at an end.  It's been an absolutely great time with family and friends, but it's not too helpful when trying to get tasks done.  So, to keep with my promise to post something on Monday, here we are :)  But, the recipe will be posted on Wednesday as a result of so many awesome things happening.

Cheers,

The Canadian Cooking Chemist.

Whipping Cream

I've been feeling a bit under the weather the last couple of days, but I'm really trying my best to provide an update every Monday since I made that promise.  So, this post won't be anything revolutionary (well, none of my posts are). 

I find I'm always trying to remember the proper ratio for a good whipping cream to top things with.  So, if nothing else, this post can serve as a quick cheat sheet for myself if I forget, and hopefully, it can help you out too.

For a nice, semi-sweet whipping cream to top on berries, waffles, ice cream, or whatever else you want, all you need is 3 ingredients and the ratio of 1c:1tbs:1tsp.

What food stuff you will need:
1 cup whipping cream 
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

What "equipment" you will  need for upside down pudding cake:
1 cup measure
1 tablespoon measure
1 teaspoon measure
1 medium bowl
1 electric mixer (or 1 whisk and a lot of energy)
OR
1 whip cream dispenser (with 1 nitrous oxide cartridge)
 
Directions:
1) Place all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl

2) Beat the cream until at the consistency you desire (the long you whip the thicker it will become).
Note: Too long and the whipping cream will be like butter

If using a whip cream dispenser, place all the ingredients in the dispenser and charge with a nitrous oxide cartridge.

So, as you can see there is really nothing too this, but I find this ratio is important. I find this ratio of ingredients is never too sweet or not sweet enough.  It's exactly what I expect whipped cream to taste like for the top of a frozen drink, on a dessert, or served for whatever you want.

Cheers,

The Canadian Cooking Chemist

PS Due to the simplistic nature of this post, I will try to do a more in-depth recipe, with several pictures before my normal update next Monday.

So... my update didn't upload and save last night... but here's a great "Mac and Cheese" recipe!

I'm not going to say it was due to the 1 or 2 or 3 glasses of wine I had last night.  Or that I started writing the post after 10 pm. Or I was exhausted after a busy weekend with family and friends.  However, I did have my post all made up last night and I did hit the publish button late last night.  I figured that was that.  However, when I went to check on my blog today and see if anyone had left any comments, I saw there were none.  Doing just a two second check, I saw my new post was nowhere to be found.  It wasn't published, it wasn't in my drafts, it was nowhere at all.  With that said, here's my second attempt.  I know it will be quicker for me to write it up again since I know what I want to say, but I know I'm not going to put in as much effort.  However, I'm sure if you make this recipe (or a variation of it), I'm sure you'll think it was worth the wait.  For your pleasure, here's a great homemade 4 cheese "mac and cheese".

Very tasty homemade 4 cheese "mac and cheese"

What food stuff you will  need for the homemade"mac and cheese" (6-8 servings):
Several cups of water for the pasta
~500 g of pasta (rigatoni or spiral)
~2.5 cups heavy cream
~1 cup of milk
1.5 cups total of different cheeses (if you only use one cheese in this, just use goat cheese or a flavoured cream cheese)
- I used goat, cheddar, Parmesan and epoisses
1 teaspoon of butter or olive oil
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon oregano
Pinch salt
Pinch pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper to finish
Optional: bacon or other protein such as chicken pieces

What "equipment" you will  need for homemade "mac and cheese":
1 spatula
1 large pot
1 large sauce pan
1 colander
1 cup measure
1 spoon
1 large casserole dish
1 cheese grater
1 teaspoon measure
1 tablespoon measure

Directions:
1)  Fill a large pot with several cups of water, a pinch of salt and turn on to high heat to bring to a boil.

2) While the water is heating, measure out ~2.5 cups of heavy cream and ~1 cup of milk and heat in a large sauce pan on high heat. (If you like it really creamy and thick, just use cream and forget the milk)

Milk and cream in a large sauce pan

3) As the milk/cream mixture is heating, add in rosemary, oregano, a pinch of pepper and a pinch of salt. 

Milk and cream with herbs and spices

4) As soon as the cream mixture starts to boil, turn the heat down to medium and let the mixture reduce in volume to about half.  You'll have to mix it periodically to avoid a "skin" forming on the surface. You'll know when the mixture is done when you place in a spoon and the back remains coated with the cream mixture (see video.... yes video! The future is now!)

5)  When the cream is done, turn to low to keep warm.

6) By now your water should be fully boiling (if not sooner). As soon as the water starts boiling, add in your pasta and let cook until it's 2-3 minutes less the cooking time on the package. Spiral or large rigatoni will hold the sauce and stand up the best to the cooking you'll do with it.
Note: companies of good pasta have spent a lot of time and money to get the best cooking time for the pasta.  It will be posted somewhere on the packaging.  This is the one time I'm going to say don't experiment with cooking times, just refer to the directions.  Most pastas will be about 10-12 minutes, but please, read the package for the pasta you're using and then do 2-3 minutes less.

7) With 2-3 minutes to go on when the pasta "should be done", take about 1/2 a cup of the pasta water and put it to the side. Drain the rest of the water using a colander and shock the pasta with cold water.

8) If you didn't set them out before, set up your cheeses now.  The important part is the cheese volume is approximately 1.5 cups in the end.  You can see below I used goat cheese, shredded old cheddar, 2 year old parmesean and epoisses (to give it an earthiness). I used the ratio of 3 parts goat cheese, 1 part cheddar, 1 part epoisses and 1 part parmesean for a total of about 1.5 cups of packed cheese.  Other great cheeses to substitute or use would be a Gruyere or Havarti.

The 4 cheeses I used (going clockwise from top left): Epoisses, old cheddar, goat cheese, parmesean

It really doesn't matter what cheeses you use, but I highly recommend a creamier cheese at the main cheese.  Back in 2010, I remember watching chef Michael Symon on Food network suggesting goat cheese for his recipe at Lola.  I was skeptical, as I'm not always a fan of goat cheese, but let me tell you, with the rosemary and oregano in this recipe, it mellows it right down and tastes so incredibly good.  Alternatively, you can use a flavoured cream cheese.  If you mainly want to use a harder cheese, such as cheddar, make sure you shred it as fine as you can and add an extra splash of cream to the mixture when heating.

9) Take the pasta and place it back in the large pot and turn on a low heat.

10) Add in the cream mixture to the pasta, along with a teaspoon of butter or olive oil (to help tie everything together) and stir to fully coat the pasta.


11) Once all stirred, start adding in your cheeses one at a time. Wait until the each cheese is fully incorporated before you add the next cheese.

Pasta with cream mixture and goat cheese just added

All the cheese have been added and mixed in making it look so creamy and tasty

12) Once all the cheeses have been added, add in 1/3-1/2 cup of the pasta water in the pot and stir. If you want to add bacon bits or chicken pieces, this is the time to do it.

13) Pour the pasta and sauce into casserole dish. Top the pasta with some fresh parmesean and pepper and place in an oven at 400F for 5-8 min.

The pasta with creamy cheese.  As it bakes for a few minutes at 400F the pasta will become fully cooked.  The moisture from the sauce will cook the pasta on the bottom and steam to the top.  Also, the pasta on the top will firm from being exposed to the direct heat.

14) After you remove the pasta from the oven, stir the pasta and sauce all together to make the pasta recovered with the creamy cheese sauce.

The final baked dish, ready to be re-stirred and served

15) Scoop the mixed pasta into an individual bowl and top with some more fresh Parmesan or cheddar cheese.  I also like to add a dash of cayenne pepper to give a little kick.

16) Give to the person that will be enjoying it!

That's it!  This makes a great homemade pasta and cheese.  There is a lot of possibility for alterations and experimentation.  So, this week, release your inner kitchen chemist and see what you can do with this great recipe!

Enjoy!

The Canadian Cooking Chemist

Easy upside down chocolate pudding cake

After my last post, I was thinking maybe it would be good to show an easy recipe for a quick and tasty chocolate dessert.  So, I thought for a while and was having trouble thinking of a recipe that is full of chocolate, should be served warm and takes less than 15-20 min to make.  At work today I happened to start chatting with one of my co-workers who is vegetarian, but not vegan.  She mentioned to me she still will eat items that have milk products if they are prepared for her or, if she makes them, she will substitute soy milk.  This triggered off bells in my head, I know a chocolate cake that could be made with milk or a milk alternative and is great!  It's amazing how a simple, quick passing conversation can give you inspiration, just as it happened to me today.  As a result, I present to you the Canadian Cooking Chemist's version of my Grandmother's upside down chocolate pudding cake.

Upside down chocolate pudding cake with strawberries, whipping cream and chocolate shavings (yes, that's extra chocolate sauce/pudding that is made during the cooking process that is decorating the cake)

What food stuff you will  need for the cake (4-6 servings):
2 tablespoon margarine
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa
2 teaspoons of baking powder
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup milk (or milk alternative)
Optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips 

What food stuff you need for the pudding portion:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 and 1/4 cup water

What "equipment" you will  need for upside down pudding cake:
2 cup measure glass
1 cup measure (may or may not be glass)
1 medium glass or microwavable bowl
1 fork
1 tablespoon measure
1 teaspoon measure
1 microwave
Some sheets of paper towel

Directions:
1) In a glass measuring cup, melt 2 tablespoons of margarine in the microwave (about 30 seconds on high).

Melted margarine

2) In a medium glass or microwaveable bowl, measure out 1 cup of flour, 3/4 cup of white sugar, 2 tablespoons of cocoa, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and a pinch of salt.

All the dry ingredients for the batter in the glass bowl

3) Mix all the dry ingredients together with a fork until homogenous.

The mixed dry ingredients

4) In the glass cup with the margarine, measure half a cup of milk (or milk substitute) and a teaspoon of vanilla. Mix the components and pour portions of the liquid mix into the dry ingredients, stirring as you add.

Mixing in the some of the milk, margarine and vanilla into the dry mixture

The fully mixed dry ingredients with the milk mixture

5) Once the batter has been made, try to evenly spread it on the bottom of the glass bowl and leave it as is. If you want to add chocolate chips to the mix, this is the time to do it.

Chocolate chips placed on top of the batter

6) It's now time to make the chocolate sauce/pudding.  In the 2 cup glass measure, place in 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa, 1 and 1/4 cup water.  Mix all these ingredients together.

The chocolate sauce/pudding

7) Pour the newly made liquid chocolate mixture over the cake batter.  What ever you do, DO NOT STIR the liquid mixture into the batter.

The liquid chocolate poured over top of the cake batter

8) Cover the batter with a paper towel and place in the microwave.

Cake ready to be cooked in the microwave

9) Cook the cake on high for 8.5 to 11 minutes depending on the power of your microwave.  We have an inverter microwave, so 8.5 minutes is perfect for us to cook without drying the cake out.
Note: When the cooking is done, you'll notice the liquid has firmed up and made it's way around the cake and to the bottom of the bowl.  It will look like a thick chocolate sauce or pudding. 

10) Remove the cake from the microwave and let cool for 5-10 min.

The final chocolatey product

11) Using a spoon, cut the cake and place in a bowl and scoop more chocolate sauce/pudding on the cake.

The plate "naked" cake

12) Top the cake with fruit, ice cream, whipping cream or serve just as is.

If you want more chocolate sauce/pudding, just upscale the ingredients for the sauce portion of this recipe.

Enjoy and keep on experimenting in the kitchen!

The Canadian Cooking Chemist

Going to a regualr schedule starting tomorrow!

Hi All,

I think to make it realistic for me and more fair to the readers of this blog, I'm going to start a regular posting schedule.  I will make a new post once a week on Monday nights.  There may be an odd extra post here or there, but starting tomorrow there will be a post every Monday for regularity.  I think that's a timeline I can follow and have enough pictures, text and time to update.

Thanks for all your patience and support with this blog!

Cheers,

The Canadian Cooking Chemist

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

A few years ago I came across the best pudding I had ever had in my life at a small little restaurant in New Orleans when I was visiting at a conference.  I thought nothing of it at the time, but for months I would compare other dessert puddings to this gastronomic delight.  So, the chemist is me began to experiment.  Time after time I kept failing. In come cases, I came up with some good puddings and, in other cases, some absolutely awful concoctions.

One day I was chatting with my mom and she mentioned she remembered a recipe for a pudding my Grandma made.  A few weeks later she dug it out and told me about it.  Although the recipe wasn't what I was looking for, it gave me the ammunition I needed.  I was making the mistake of using gelatin, corn starch or other "aggressive" thickening agents in almost all my mixtures.  When all that is really needed is creme, milk, eggs and time.  From this, I've been able to devise a recipe that is packed with rich chocolate taste and silky texture.

Rich chocolate pudding with strawberry and chocolate crumble

As a heads up, this is not a low calorie recipe and is very rich.  A little bit goes a long way, but is really enjoyable if you love chocolate. The recipe I have below is for 4-6 portions, but can be easily up or down scaled as desired (all the pictures in the steps are for have portions described as there were only two of us enjoying it in the evening I prepared this). In the portion I show in the picture above, it was almost too much for me to have in one sitting, but for my fiancee, it she said it wasn't hard to do at all.

What food stuff you will  need for the pudding (4-6 servings):
2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
2 cups of whipping cream
1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
60 g of butter (not salted, this is a little less than 1/4 cup) - it has to be butter not margarine
1/2 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate
Optional: splash of milk (this will be added to make thinner if you like less dense pudding)


What "equipment" you will  need for the pudding:
1 large mixing bowl
1 small-medium bowl
1 fork
1 whisk or electric mixer
1 large sauce pan
1 cutting board
1 knife for chopping
1 tablespoon measure
1/2 cup measure

Directions:
1) In a large bowl, combine the egg and sugar and mix.

Egg and sugar ready to mix

Egg and sugar mixed

2) Add in the cream to the egg and sugar mixture and whisk until combined.  You should mix until all the sugar is dissolved into the cream and bubbles form (see picture).

Note: Be sure not to over beat the cream to create peaks; just beat the mixture enough to aerate and mix.

Egg, sugar and cream mixed

3) In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa, flour and pinch of salt fully with a fork until uniform.
Note: The salt will help bring out the chocolate flavour in the final product more than if it's not included.

Cocoa, flour and salt mixture

 4) Slowly add small portions of the cocoa flour mix into the cream mixture and mix to homogenous.  Keep adding in portions of the cocoa mixture until it is all added to the large mixing bowl and fully mixed in.

Cocoa mixture added to the cream mixture

5) Meanwhile, measure out ~1/2 cup of chocolate chips, chunks or chopped up chocolate and a bit less than 1/4 cup of butter to use in a little bit.

6) In a large sauce pan, add in the mixture and turn the heat to approximately medium, stirring the mixture during the heating process.

Starting heating the mixture on medium heat

7) You'll notice as the the mixture begins to heat, the colour of the pudding will darken.  This is expected, so don't worry! Continue stirring. 

8) By the time the pudding has come to a simmer, the colour change should be almost complete.  Once simmering, remove the mixture from the heat and add in the butter and chocolate chips to add more chocolate taste and add smoothness to the final product. 

Adding in the butter and chocolate chips

9) After the butter and chocolate chips have melted and are fully included in the mixture, place the pudding in bowls and put in the fridge for 30-60 min to chill before serving.
Optional: If you feel the pudding is too thick since you left it simmering too long, or the recipe provide is just too thick for your taste, add a small splash of milk and mix into the mixture to reduce the thickness before chilling.

The final product with all components combined and heating finished

10) After ~ 45-60 min the pudding should be fully set and ready to eat! I normally add some fruit to the top and grated chocolate.  Alternatively, you can add some fresh whipping cream or make layers of pudding and whipping cream to lighten up the chocolate flavour and make the pudding "lighter".

Pudding placed in a bowl ready to chill out

Enjoy and until next time, keep on experimenting in the kitchen!

The Canadian Cooking Chemist