The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (256 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

German apple pancakes combine the best qualities of a popover and a pancake, but this old-world classic is prone to numerous pitfalls: insufficient rise, leaden texture, and eggy flavor. The perfect pancake should have crisp, lighter-than-air edges and a custardlike center, with buttery sautéed apples baked right into the batter. To give the pancake a rich flavor without sacrificing the texture, we used half-and-half in the batter. Granny Smith apples provided a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness. Cutting the apples into ¹⁄
₂
-inch-thick pieces kept them from turning mushy, and cooking them in brown sugar with cinnamon and lemon juice made them at once earthy and bright. Starting the pancake in a hot oven gave the batter the quick rise it needed; we then reduced the heat to a more moderate temperature, which cooked the pancake to perfection.

See “MAKING GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE” illustrations that follow recipe.

SERVES 4

A 10-inch ovensafe skillet is necessary for this recipe; we highly recommend using a nonstick skillet for the sake of easy cleanup, but a regular skillet will work as well. If you prefer tart apples, use Granny Smiths; if you prefer sweet ones, use Braeburns. For serving, dust the apple pancake with confectioners’ sugar and pass warm maple syrup or Caramel Sauce (recipe follows) separately, if desired.

1.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees.

2.
Whisk flour, granulated sugar, and salt together in medium bowl. In second medium bowl, whisk eggs, half-and-half, and vanilla until combined. Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain, about 20 seconds; set aside.

3.
Melt butter in 10-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, brown sugar, and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently, until apples are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice.

4.
Working quickly, pour batter around and over apples. Place skillet in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake until pancake edges are brown and puffy and have risen above edges of skillet, about 18 minutes.

5.
Carefully remove skillet from oven and loosen pancake edges with heatproof rubber spatula; invert pancake onto serving platter. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, cut into wedges, and serve.

MAKES ABOUT
1¹⁄
₂
CUPS

When the hot cream mixture is added in step 3, the hot sugar syrup will bubble vigorously (and dangerously), so don’t use a smaller saucepan. If you make the caramel sauce ahead, reheat it in the microwave or a small saucepan over low heat until warm and fluid.

1.
Place water in 2-quart saucepan. Pour sugar in center of pan, taking care not to let sugar touch sides of pan. Cover and bring mixture to boil over high heat; once boiling, uncover and continue to boil until syrup is thick and straw-colored and registers 300 degrees, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until syrup is deep amber and registers 350 degrees, 1 to 2 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, bring cream and salt to simmer in small saucepan over high heat (if cream boils before sugar reaches deep amber color, remove cream from heat and cover to keep warm).

3.
Remove sugar syrup from heat. Very carefully pour about one quarter of hot cream into syrup (mixture will bubble vigorously) and let bubbling subside. Add remaining cream, vanilla, and lemon juice; whisk until sauce is smooth. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Most “waffle” recipes are merely repurposed pancake recipes that rely on butter and maple syrup to mask the mediocre results. Our waffles had to have a crisp, golden brown crust with a moist, fluffy interior. We started by trying to adapt our
BEST BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
recipe. The result: the terrific flavor we expected, but a gummy, wet interior and not much crust. We needed a drier batter with much more leavening oomph. In tempura batters, seltzer is often used because the tiny bubbles inflate the batter the same way as a chemical leavener. We tried replacing the buttermilk in our recipe with a mixture of seltzer and powdered buttermilk, plus baking soda for browning. The resulting waffles were light and perfectly browned, but after only a few moments off the heat, they lost their crispness. After some experimentation, we found that waffles made with oil stayed significantly crispier than those made with melted butter, which is partly water. And best of all, tasters didn’t notice the swap, just the excellent flavor.

MAKES ABOUT EIGHT 7-INCH ROUND WAFFLES

While the waffles can be eaten as soon as they are removed from the waffle iron, they will have a crispier exterior if rested in a warm oven for 10 minutes. (This method also makes it possible to serve everyone at the same time.) Buttermilk powder is available in most supermarkets and is generally located near the dried-milk products or in the baking aisle. Leftover buttermilk powder can be kept in the refrigerator for up to a year. Seltzer or club soda gives these waffles a light texture that would otherwise be provided by whipped egg whites. (Avoid sparkling water such as Perrier—it’s not bubbly enough.) Use a freshly opened container for maximum lift. Serve waffles with butter and warm maple syrup.

1.
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet; place in oven. Whisk flour, buttermilk powder, sugar, salt, and baking soda together in large bowl. Whisk sour cream, eggs, vanilla, and oil together in medium bowl to combine. Gently stir seltzer into wet ingredients. Make well in center of dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently stir until just combined (batter should remain lumpy with few streaks of flour).

2.
Heat waffle iron and bake waffles according to manufacturer’s instructions (use about ¹⁄
₃
cup for 7-inch round iron). Transfer waffles to wire rack in preheated oven; repeat with remaining batter. Serve.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Raised waffles are barely on the current culinary radar, and that’s a shame. They sound old-fashioned and require an ounce of advance planning, but they are crisp, tasty, and easy to prepare We wanted to revive this breakfast treat with yeasted waffles that were creamy and airy, tangy and salty, refined and complex. We settled on all-purpose flour, found the right amount of yeast to provide a pleasant, tangy flavor, and added a full stick of melted butter for rich flavor. Refrigerating the batter overnight kept the growth of the yeast under control and produced waffles with superior flavor. Even better, now all we had to do in the morning was heat up the iron.