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Chez Ma Tante’s Pancakes
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- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 1large egg
- 1egg yolk
- 2½tablespoons baking powder
- 2tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1teaspoon kosher salt
- 1¼cups whole milk
- 1cup all-purpose flour
- 1cup plus 2 tablespoons clarified butter (or store-bought), melted
- Salted butter, for serving (optional)
- Maple syrup, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Whisk egg and yolk together in a medium bowl. Add baking powder, sugar and salt; whisk until smooth and fluffy. Pour in half the milk, then half the flour. Using a wooden spoon, stir to combine. Add the remaining milk and flour plus 2 tablespoons clarified butter and stir briefly just until batter comes together but is still somewhat lumpy.
- Step 2
Heat a large 12-inch cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high for at least 5 minutes. Pour about ¼ cup clarified butter into the pan. When the surface of the clarified butter starts to shimmer, ladle about ⅓ cup of the batter into the skillet for each pancake, leaving a couple of inches between each pancake. Add more clarified butter as pancakes cook to keep about ⅛ inch of fat in the bottom of the pan at all times.
- Step 3
Cook until the top of the pancake starts to bubble and edges turn browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spatula to flip each pancake. The cooked surface should be very crispy, with a dark ring around the edge. Cook until the second side is browned and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Repeat to cook the remaining pancakes, adding more clarified butter as needed.
- Step 4
Serve immediately with pats of salted butter, if desired, and maple syrup. If making a large batch, cooked pancakes can be kept warm on a wire rack set in a rimmed metal baking sheet in a 300-degree oven.
- The batter can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. You might need to increase cook time on the pancakes by 1 minute or so on each side.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
Melt butter, more than the recipe calls for and put in in the refrigerator. As it cools, the fat solids will rise to the top. Remove the top layer of fat and the remainder is clarified butter. Also called Ghee in the grocery store.
You are never going to make really great pancakes until you get the right flour ! Not all purpose and heaven forbid not bread flour. You need soft wheat flour - biscuit flour. Try it you will taste the difference.
After mixing the batter, wait about 15-20 minutes before cooking the cakes. It takes a few minutes for the dry flour to fully hydrate and makes for lighter pancakes.
For anyone trying these out and turned off by all the pearl-clutchers with the "TOO GREASY AND SALTY OMG MY STARS AND GARTERS": make sure your pan is nice and hot before adding the clarified butter, then make sure the butter is hot before adding the batter. I bet their pans/butter weren't hot enough, which would indeed give you a heavy, greasy pancake. If, on the other hand, you just don't like butter and salt then don't make these, make a different pancake. Good lord.
Saw this today and made it today! Incredibly easy and only had to run to the store for whole milk. Only had 2tbs of ghee for the mix, so instead used unsalted butter in the cast iron (about 1/4 cup). They were DELICIOUS, not very sweet on their own, so some berries and maple syrup are the perfect topping. Now, point me in the direction of the closest gym... 😂
We always have ghee in the house so these pancakes are a winner. Although starting with 1/4 cup of ghee in the pan sounds heavenly, the pancakes can still get crispy with only a couple of tablespoons, adding an add'l Tbl per pancake thereafter. You'll also not want to use a griddle pan as the ghee splatters as you flip the pancake. I use a lodge cast iron skillet since it stays nice and hot, preventing the pancake from absorbing too much ghee. No need to serve with more butter, but why not :)
If it was fine, then make it your way. You will not have the same pancakes the author of this recipe makes. Write your own recipes.
I had not read this recipe before today, when I made the pancakes. I was sure the baking powder was a misprint. Should I trash this and make another recipe? No..."have faith" I thought, and I carried on. The batter was not the traditional pancake-y batter. It was foamy. By the time I had all the ingredients together, I was prepared for a failure. But...Voila, the pancakes looked exactly like the photo and they were delicious!! Very delicious!! Thanks for this keeper!!
I am a serious pancake maven. We have a winner here. Easy to prepare, these are now my favorite pancakes. Light, with seriously crispy edges, they are heavenly. The only changes I made were using just a good (unclarified) butter for both greasing my 10" cast iron skillet and a pat for each pancake; adding about a full teaspoon of vanilla extract; and getting rid of all lumps. I also make them one at a time, spreading the full tablespoon of batter to make them about 4-inches across. Fantastic.
My grandmother who was a dairy farmer made pancakes like these while I was growing up. The crispy edges are what send these over the top for flavor and appeal. After you learn the technique it is hard to go back to soft pale pancakes of any description. By the way, my favorite pancakes are buckwheat. Mmmmm
Wow. Decadent pancakes. I usually just throw in a few tablespoons of ricotta to make rich pancakes. But this recipe, with its unashamed copious amounts of clarified butter has nudged mine right off the cliff. Delicious, demanding seconds. (You might want to prepare these privately so as not to scare off fat phobes. )
We use coconut oil and get excellent, crispy results for all manner of pancakes.
These were delicious - light, fluffy and crispy, absolutely decadent! A once a month treat, perhaps. I served with our local Ontario Maple Syrup, this year’s dark amber and fresh berries.
For those who ask why people are concerned about limiting baking powder. Baking powder has 488mg of sodium per teaspoon, 20% of daily recommended intake.
Cannot possibly rave enough over these pancakes. Followed recipe exactly, including the 12 inch Cast Iron Skillet. Will try again, but I want to experiment with mixing the batter traditionally....all dry whisked together, liquids mixed together and then combine. Want to try the overnight chill thing too. I like to weigh flour, and without clear weights, I opted for 130 g. for the cup. If the batter becomes too thick overnight, I will use 125g on a future iteration. These will be made often.
I watched a video of the Sous Chef making these pancakes and he put lemon zest into the sugar before mixing.
My mother made these once a week when we were little. She did not fry them in butter but in vegetable oil, I use canola. It’s less tricky to get the oil good and hot rather than butter. Also a lot less expensive. My grandchildren call them crepes, which they are not. But they do have that crispy texture than pancakes lack.
Do not, I repeat do not listen to the pearl clutchers and nay sayers. This recipe is a W (win)!! Follow the recipe to a T and don’t skimp on the ghee, it is the secret weapon. I ran out- my house will never be ghee free again! Ghee makes the edges crispy and delightful! I put in a little at a time, just enough so that the edges lightly swim in it and bubble. This did not feel too salty or greasy. 1 to the folks who recommended high heat and lemon zest! I will never use another pancake recipe.
Anyone make these with gluten free flour?
Made according to the recipe, following the standard techniques of preheating a cast iron skillet for several minutes for an even temp. Used clarified butter because ghee is not. The pancakes are delightful and decadent. They stand well on their own, though maple and salted butter push them into a dessert. Will likely make the batter the same and reduce the butter for more frequent cooking due to the batters simplicity
Add lemon zest to the sugar (just the yellow, none of the bitter white rind). Also, I’d cut the salt a little (using Malden).
Great recipe but missing secret ingredient: lemon zest. From the chef @Chez Ma Tante regarding these pancakes: “The pancakes are different from the other places because we do lemon zest in there. I think it's a secret part. We use just exactly the lemon zest. Just the yellow one.”
Next time cook on 6
my husband and I loved these! Idk if I will ever use another pancake recipe after trying this one. We used EINKORN flour instead of all purpose and they turned out wonderfully!
According to online video from restaurant, eggs/sugar need to be whipped in stand mixer until light (like making a cake). Then follow rest of recipe using the mixer. I did this and the pancakes were super light and airy with crispy edges.
There’s a you tube video of the chef prepping pancakes at this restaurant, and a healthy amount of lemon zest is used
They use lemon zest as well, mixed in with the sugar.
I'm so sorry to say that I pulled the classic amateur move of adding baking soda instead of baking powder. They looked beautiful but my god - they tasted like a butter, awful mess....Don't make the same mistake!
The batter was so runny, one 1/3 cup pancake took over the whole pan and became unmanageable. Wish I could get all that butter back haha
Batter was very runny. Not sure what I did wrong, I followed the directions exactly
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