More Cake! Okay, really PANcakes.

Seeings as it is National Cake Month, I thought we should have more posts about, well, CAKE. These particular cakes were made for my niece's first birthday party. Raspberry Lemon on the right, and an applesauce cake with sweetened whipped cream on the left. My niece really only wanted to eat the raspberries, and everyone else just wanted to see her make a mess.

But the point is still CAKE MONTH. And I am not making this up. Well, originally I was, but then I googled "National Cake Month" and found this site:

http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/national_cake_holidays.html

Which confirms that February is, IN FACT, the month of glorious celebration. Of course, it's also National Pancake Month. I haven't made any pancakes this month, but did manage to make some at the tail end of last month. I had some friends in town visiting for the Sundance Film Festival, and a recipe for Gingerbread pancakes that I had been itching to try. Now, since my husband only likes straight-from-the-Bisquik-Box recipe pancakes, I had to use this opportunity to try out something new.

The recipe came from someone's request to Gourmet magazine for the Gingerbread pancake recipe served at La Note cafe in Berkeley. Now, this happens to be one of my favorite breakfast spots in the whole world, so of course I would try it. At the restaurant they serve these pancakes with poached pears, but I wasn't going to go that over the top.

So I served mine with strawberry pomegranate compote. And bacon. And maple syrup of course. Which really just led to a five person debate over the various merits of real versus artificial maple syrup. So we taste tested. Because, of course with the husband only liking Bisquik pancakes, naturally we had his preference - Mrs. Butterworth's syrup - close at hand. A man of discerning tastes, obviously.

Back to the pancakes - they were delicious. I am sure that in a debate there would be those to argue its claim to actually be 'gingerbread' seeings as it contained modest amounts of powdered ginger and no molasses. But they were sweet and spicy and just a little airy. The recipe made a ton, so I halved it and it still comfortably fed five of us. I should say that I halved it except for the coffee and water amounts, as well as the spices. What can I say, I am a sucker for cinnamon...

Gingerbread Pancakes (original recipe)
straight from the pages of Gourmet

(remember, I halved most of the ingredients...also, i found the batter to be pretty stiff, so I had to spread it when I poured it into the frying pan)

* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 cup water
* 1/2 cup brewed coffee, cold or at room temperature
* 4 large eggs
* 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
* 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
* Vegetable oil for brushing griddle

Whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl. Whisk together water, coffee, eggs, butter, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined. Let stand 15 minutes (batter will thicken).

Brush a griddle or 12-inch nonstick skillet with oil and heat over moderate heat until hot but not smoking.

Working in batches of 3 or 4, pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto hot griddle and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes with a spatula and cook until cooked through and edges are lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer to a platter and loosely cover with foil to keep warm. Brush griddle with oil between batches.