fresh orange and banana crepes: inspired by balinese banana pancakes

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Last night I dreamt that I was at the airport with a wad of money in pocket and passport in hand eager to go anywhere, anywhere away. That was how I used to do it, pick a destination and go. And all these years later I still remember the heavy tropical air, the shadows cast through wicker walls, the sounds amplified by the darkness of that first night, exhaustion and exaltation, and the heat.

A month later I had finally learned to stroll, to accept that the bus came when it got there, to sip my tea and savor each bite of papaya, the creamy charred bananas in the pancakes, the a squeeze of lime, another cup of tea.

I am not at the airport, not this morning anyway, and I cannot even offer you papaya, but these pancakes approximate a feeling, a bit of who I was and I bit of who I am. Now let’s see what tomorrow brings.

fresh orange and banana crepes: inspired by Balinese banana pancakes

This batter is thinner than most recipes call for, more akin to crepes. You could leave out the booze and add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla and a bit more orange instead. The oranges look prettier but the bananas are easier to eat.

makes about six full size pancakes or 18 small (five-inch?)

ingredients

• 1 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour, you could use AP or a blend)
  1 tsp sugar
  1/4 teaspoon salt
  1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
  the zest from one well washed satsuma orange
  1 cup milk
  1 large egg
  the juice of one satsuma orange (about 2 T-1/4 cup)
  2 T spiced liquor of choice or brandy
  2 satsuma oranges and 2 ripe but still firm bananas sliced into approximately 1/4” thick slices.
  about 3 tablespoons of butter
  sugar or syrup for topping

directions

1. in a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom
2. in a separate bowl or two cup measuring cup lightly whisk together the milk, egg, orange juice, liquor, and orange zest
3. pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until throughly combined- let the batter rest for at least 20 minutes or up to 48 hours. the batter should be thin enough to pour easily.
4. preheat a well seasoned cast iron or non stick crêpe pan over medium high heat- you can use rings as pictured to make perfect rounds but I think they are tastier if less pretty if you allow the batter to flow freely.
5. the secret here is butter and patience- a non stick surface helps too!
6. to make each pancake generously butter the preheated pan (I used about 3/4 tsp per pancake) and then arrange the fruit and let it cook until the butter begins to brown and the fruit begins to caramelize (about 3 minutes) reduce the heat to medium and pour the batter over the fruit (about 1/3 cup of batter for a full size pancake and about 1 1/4 tablespoons for a small), tipping/swirling the pan to distribute the batter evenly. Cook until the batter has completely set and then flip allowing to cook for another minute or so.
7. Serve hot topped with a bit of maple syrup or a light dusting of cardamom sugar.

A few months ago I would have made these in a cast iron skillet but a few months back I attended the International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle where one of the sponsors was Anolon. Everybody got a crêpe pan!  And so now I am in a chicken egg conundrum where before I never bought a crêpe pan because I hardly ever made crepes but now that I have a crêpe pan all I want to do is make crepes. Non-stick. And when you are caramelizing a slightly too ripe banana non stick is the way you want to go. So thank you Anolon for the pan and thank you IFBC for the memories (and in a round about way, the pan). Through December the next IFBC (this one will be in Sacramento) is an additional $50 dollars off. IF you are an active blogger it really is a wonderful place to meet like-minded people and eat and drink and take home some swag.

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fresh fruit crepes with orange and banana: inspired by balinese banana pancakes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 6 minutes mins

Total Time 11 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup flour I used whole wheat pastry flour, you could use AP or a blend
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• the zest from one well washed satsuma orange
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• the juice of one satsuma orange about 2 T-1/4 cup
• 2 T spiced liquor of choice or brandy
• 2 satsuma oranges and 2 ripe but still firm bananas sliced into approximately 1/4” thick slices.
• about 3 tablespoons of butter
• sugar or syrup for topping

Instructions

 

• in a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and cardamom
• in a separate bowl or two cup measuring cup lightly whisk together the milk, egg, orange juice, liquor, and orange zest
• pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until throughly combined- let the batter rest for at least 20 minutes or up to 48 hours. the batter should be thin enough to pour easily.
• preheat a well seasoned cast iron or non stick crepe pan over medium high heat- you can use rings as pictured to make perfect rounds but I think they are tastier if less pretty if you allow the batter to flow freely.
• the secret here is butter and patience- a non stick surface helps too!
• to make each pancake generously butter the preheated pan (I used about 3/4 tsp per pancake) and then arrange the fruit and let it cook until the butter begins to brown and the fruit begins to caramelize (about 3 minutes) reduce the heat to medium and pour the batter over the fruit (about 1/3 cup of batter for a full size pancake and about 1 1/4 tablespoons for a small), tipping/swirling the pan to distribute the batter evenly. Cook until the batter has completely set and then flip allowing to cook for another minute or so.
• Serve hot topped with a bit of maple syrup or a light dusting of cardamom sugar.

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