Homemade "Instant" Pancake Mix and Blueberry Pancakes

Friday, April 2, 2010

Homemade “Instant” Pancake Mix and Blueberry Pancakes

After the maple festivities last Saturday, Hubby really wanted pancakes on Sunday morning. He was sad to find out that we didn’t have any pancake mix in the house and asked me to grab some at the store. I scoffed at him and said I’d make them from scratch.

We rarely eat processed foods at home. Except for pancakes. We don’t eat them very often, but usually there is a container with the mix that you just add water to. I’m sure the ingredient list on that container is pretty scarey and contains tons of ingredients that no one knows how to pronouce. So I decided to take this opportunity to prevent those super-long-there’s-no-way-I-can-read-this-ingredient-so-I-probably-shouldn’t-be-eating-it ingredients from getting into our bodies.

Aside from my baking obsession, we eat pretty healthy in the Beantown Baker household. We both eat our 5 fruits/veggies a day thanks to Hubby packing lunches for us every morning. He includes something for breakfast, lunch, and snacks. A lot of produce and the rest is homemade. For dinner we always cook unless we’re eating out.

So I set out to find a pancake recipe to make from scratch. I did grab some beautiful blueberries while I was at the store that morning to throw into our pancakes (I used the rest to make our favorite banana-blueberry muffins). I was going to start with Google, but instead headed towards my shelf of cookbooks. I do have quite a few and I’m trying to use them more often. I opened my trusty Alton Brown cookbook and found a perfect solution. A recipe for a pancake mix! So I would be able to have pancakes that morning and have a mix to use in the future.

The mix is very simple to throw together. I’m storing mine in the freezer because I doubt we’ll use it up in three months. I found the pancake batter to be a bit thick, so I added more buttermilk to thin them out. This recipe yields some really tasty pancakes. The addition of those plump blueberries and real maple syrup definitely took these over the top!

One Year Ago: Cinnamon Biscuits

Yield: 3 batches of 12 pancakes

Ingredients:

For the Instant Pancake Mix
6 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp sugar

For the Pancakes
2 eggs, separated
2 cups buttermilk
4 Tbsp melted butter
2 cups Instant Pancake Mix, recipe above
1 stick butter, for greasing the pan
2 cups fresh blueberries, optional

Directions:

Heat an electric griddle or frying pan to 350 degrees F.

Whisk together the egg whites and the buttermilk in a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the melted butter.

Combine the buttermilk mixture with the egg yolk mixture in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until thoroughly combined. Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the pancake mix. Using a whisk, mix the batter just enough to bring it together. Don't try to work all the lumps out.

Lightly butter the griddle. Wipe off thoroughly with a paper towel so that no butter is visible.

For the Instant Pancake Mix
Combine all of the ingredients in a lidded container. Shake to mix.

Use the mix within 3 months.

Pancakes
Gently ladle the pancake batter onto the griddle and sprinkle on fruit if desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edges of the pancake and the griddle-side of the cake is golden, gently flip the pancakes. Continue to cook 2 to 3 minutes or until the pancake is set.

Serve immediately or remove to a towel-lined baking sheet and cover with a towel.

Recipe from Alton Brown's Good Eats and The Early Years Cookbook

Breakfast

12 comments »

30 Responses to “Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake”

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1

CB — March 30, 2008 at 4:57 am

I love the idea of perfect party minicakes!! They look delish! Great job! That flour picture is so funny. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that – flour on the counter, on my KA, in my hair, on my face!
Clara @ I♥food4thought
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2

Nemmie — March 30, 2008 at 5:10 am

Yum! Love the raspberry/lemon combo, and the mini cakes are adorable 🙂
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3

Morven — March 30, 2008 at 11:36 am

Well done – what an innovative variation. They look so cute!
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4

Maryann — March 30, 2008 at 11:49 am

I can totally relate to the slippery effect.
Your cake looks beautiful!
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5

Sheltie Girl — March 30, 2008 at 12:09 pm

You did a lovely job on all your mini cakes.

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go
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6

slush — March 30, 2008 at 1:23 pm

Adorable! Your KA and mine would be best friends. ‘Chuck’ is always filthy. Poor guy. He gets cleaned up, just to be coated again. 😉
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7

Ben — March 30, 2008 at 1:27 pm

How cute! Making mini-cakes is a great idea. Next time I make this cake I will try that, I still have a HUGE cake in the fridge I need to eat :-/

Cheers!
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8

~Amber~ — March 30, 2008 at 2:24 pm

Great idea on the mini cakes. They are really cute. Great job. To the next challenge we go.
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Carrie — March 30, 2008 at 3:21 pm

beautifully done!!! love it!!!
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10

Jerry — March 30, 2008 at 3:59 pm

I love the little cakes! Plus the raspberries! Yummy!
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11

L Vanel — March 30, 2008 at 4:20 pm

The mini cakes look really amazing!
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12

Allergy Mom — March 30, 2008 at 4:46 pm

The minicakes are wonderful! Now, you’ll need my address to send one…Libby 😉
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13

Butta Buns — March 30, 2008 at 5:23 pm

Love the idea of the mini cakes, that’s so adorable!
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14

Bridget — March 30, 2008 at 7:16 pm

Mini-cakes are definitely more work than one large cake! They’re so cute though.
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15

Nikki — March 30, 2008 at 7:43 pm

What a cute idea! They look adorable!
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16

Gail — March 30, 2008 at 7:51 pm

I love desserts in miniature and your mini cakes look beautiful. I think I will most definitely be making mini cakes sometime in the near future – thank you for the wonderful idea!

~gail
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17

Claire — March 30, 2008 at 9:04 pm

I’m loving the mini versions! The cake looks fantastic. Mmmmm!
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18

Peabody — March 30, 2008 at 9:32 pm

I made mini ones too. I hate to tell you but it is way easier to frost a whole cake than mini ones. 🙂
Looks great.
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19

Beth G. — March 30, 2008 at 9:52 pm

Beautiful!! You did a gorgeous job :O)
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20

Namratha — March 30, 2008 at 11:08 pm

These individual cakes look pretty…well done!
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21

Lesley — March 31, 2008 at 12:10 am

Really cute idea to make individual cakes, I love that. Great job!
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22

jasmine — March 31, 2008 at 12:58 am

I adore your minicakes. V lovely.

j
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23

leafy bombshell — March 31, 2008 at 2:23 am

Oh! the minicakes are just the best idea ever. I probably should have done that with my oh-so flat cakes. How great.
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24

Ritsumei — March 31, 2008 at 3:57 am

Mini cakes -what a great idea! I think I’m going to have to try that here pretty soon. Looks like a delicious lot of fun. Especially the part where you get to eat the scraps. I think this cake was some of the best I’ve had.
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25

ruthEbabes — March 31, 2008 at 2:15 pm

What cute little mini cakes! Aren’t things just better when they’re mini?

Great work!
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26

Gabi — March 31, 2008 at 4:00 pm

I love the little cakes and the picture with the raspberry and lemon zest is so enticing!
Perfect!
xoxo
Gabi
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27

Jenny — April 1, 2008 at 1:14 am

Another messy baker here! And I love the mini cakes – I’m nice to see its as low-tech as cutting circles out of larger pieces rather than trying to bake a bunch of cakes in miniature pans.
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28

creampuff — April 1, 2008 at 1:55 am

Jen,

Your little cakes are gorgeous! I too love swiss buttercream … congratulations on a job well done!
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29

JMom — April 1, 2008 at 9:12 pm

wow, that takes some patience, putting all those cakes together! They are just the cutest though. ~ JMom
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30

Big Boys Oven — April 2, 2008 at 8:54 am

so petite and cute!