Ah, another part to my “Baking & Cooking Clinton Street Baking Company’s Cookbook” series. (Gosh, that’s a mouthful). First I tested the Buttermilk Biscuit & Raspberry Jam recipes, now it’s time to graduate to the pancakes.

As mentioned previously in my “The Perfect Pancake” post, these are worth the wait. This recipe was adapted from the Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook. All credit goes to Neil Kleinberg who developed this wonderful recipe and whom these pancakes are named after. Please do go to the real Clinton St. Baking Company at 4 Clinton Street.

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Neil’s Pancakes

Makes 18 to 20 3-inch Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder, plus 1 teaspoon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 teaspoons unmelted for the griddle
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting

Instructions:

1. Measure and sift all the dry ingredients into a large (preferably stainless-steel) mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The result should be slightly lumpy, yet combined to form a batter.
3. Whip the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl until they reach medium peaks (soft in the middle). You can either whip them by hand with a whisk, or put them in the bowl of an electric mixer to whip. Be careful, you don’t want to overwhip the whites.
4. Gently mix half of the whipped whites into the batter with a large rubber spatula. Then gently fold the remaining half into the batter. Remember: this batter should be slightly lumpy and have large parts of egg whites not fully incorporated; it should look like whitecaps in the ocean with foam on the top. (The batter will last a few hours in the fridge without deflating too much.)
5. Heat a griddle – either an electric griddle, a stovetop griddle, or a big flat pan – to 350 to 375°F. Grease the hot griddle with the remaining butter. Drop 1/4 cup (approximately 4 tablespoons) of pancake batter on the griddle and cook to set. Add 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add fruit to the mix; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle. When you see bubbles start to form on top, lift the pancake halfway up to see if it’s golden brown and crispy on the edges. If ready, flip the pancake.
6. When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, cooking several pancakes at a time. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar for the blueberry pancakes, cinnamon sugar for the banana-walnut. Serve warm with Maple Butter (see below for recipe).

 

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Maple Butter

Makes 2 Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup real maple syrup (we prefer grade-B organic)
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions:

1. Heat the maple syrup over medium heat
2. Add the cold butter to the warm syrup by whisking in a few cubes at a time until the sauce is smooth and all the butter is incorporated.
3. Turn off the flame and keep the sauce in a warm place until ready to serve. It will keep for at least 2 months in the refrigerator. Never boil the syrup.