Max’s Cast Iron Pancake Recipe

Max's Cast Iron Pancake Recipe

My son Max’s first word was pancake. Well, that’s not true, but it seems like it should have been. At the mature age of 2, he feels very strongly that pancakes should be a part of every meal and has no problem telling his mom and I so.

Being the Super Dad (pushover) that I am, I try to oblige him from time to time.

This pancake recipe is a baked pancake served family style and is the basis for all of my pancake variations. Max has pushed me as only a 2 year old can to come up with many, many pancakes that we can eat. The better ones will be shared. The not so good ones will never be talked about again.

Now, I feel very strongly that the 12” cast iron skillet is the ultimate piece of cookware. If you don’t have one, you can always substitute a 9” x 13” baking pan in a pinch.

Recipe | Plain with Raspberry Sauce

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

⅓ cup sugar

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 eggs

2 cups full fat buttermilk

¼ cup + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional - 2 cups frozen blueberries or raspberries

Directions

Place a 12” cast iron skillet into a cold oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Whisk together the eggs, vanilla and buttermilk. Melt the ¼ cup of butter and whisk into the buttermilk egg mixture.

Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry mixture and stir to combine.

Remove the cast iron skillet from the oven. Add the remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet and allow the butter to melt.

Optional - fold the berries into the batter

Pour the batter into the skillet and return to the oven.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

A note about bacon - Do you bake your bacon? If not, you should. Lay out 1lb of thick sliced bacon on a wire rack over an aluminum foil lined sheet pan (easy cleanup). If you place it in the cold oven at the same time that you place the cast iron skillet in to preheat, the bacon and the pancake will finish at just about the exact same time.

 

Raspberry Sauce

2 cups frozen raspberries

⅓ cup sugar

Add raspberries and sugar to a heavy bottom saucepan. Stir to combine.

Heat over medium heat stirring regularly. The longer the berry mixture is cooked the more the fruit will break down. Depending upon your desired thickness, adjust the cooking time accordingly.

For a “clean” sauce, cook until the fruit is completely broken down and strain out the seeds with a fine mesh colander.