Caramelized Nectarine Pancakes

These breakfast bad boys came about due to an abundance of ripe nectarines, reminiscing about North Carolina beach breakfasts, and my absolute undying devotion to making delicious breakfast foods.  Fact: I am much more likely to go all out on breakfast than any other meal of the day.

Nectarines are right up there with peaches and black raspberries as my favorite fruit.  I mean just look at them!  They are perfect golden slices of sugary goodness.  As with the other two fruit favorites, they are best eaten in season.  I bought a bunch of these nectarines with the intention of grilling them and serving them with ice cream, but that did not happen because we went for strawberry ice cream cones instead.  So, the following morning, I peeled them and thinly sliced them to be put into my favorite basic pancake recipe.

Then, I placed tabs of butter on the hot cast iron griddle, and cooked the thin slices of nectarine for a few minutes on medium heat, until they were softened and the butter was bubbly brown and caramelized.  This griddle is a must-have in my kitchen – we bought our two-burner cast iron griddle a few years back and use it pretty much every day for breakfast.

Next, I poured about a 1/2 cup of batter on top of the caramelized slices and sprinkled some cinnamon on top.  I let it cook for 2-3 minutes, or till the edges were starting to dry and bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, but don’t yet break.  Check for doneness by gently lifting the edge of the pancake with a spatula.

Nectarine perfection when flipped!  I cooked the pancakes for 1-2 more minutes on the other side, check though, as the other side never takes as long to cook as the first. That little plain guy is for my youngest – he was happier to eat his foods separated.  Check below for the base recipe of this easy, yet decadent pancake recipe.  Note: I used all-purpose flour instead of cake flour.  I never have that specialty flour around.

I recently read that the best pancakes are the ones that are mixed, covered, and refrigerated for 3-6 hours, or longer before cooking.  I will be testing this out for tomorrow – check back for the results.

Buttermilk Pancakes (from Joy of Cooking) Makes about ten 4-inch cakes.

1. Combine: 1 cup cake flour, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3/4 teaspoon double-acting baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

2. Beat until light: 1 egg.  Add: 1 cup buttermilk, 1-2 tablespoons melted butter.

3. Combine the dry and liquid ingredients with a few swift strokes.

Nectarine Caramelized Pancakes

1. Mix pancake base from buttermilk pancake recipe above.

2. Slice and remove pits from 2-3 ripe nectarines.  Peel and thinly slice.  Place small tabs of butter onto a hot griddle and place 2-3 slices of nectarine in the melting butter.  Use a fork to move the slices around so they are coated in butter.  Allow them to caramelize by cooking the slices over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the slices are softened and the butter is bubbly and slightly browned.

3. Pour about a 1/2 cup of batter over the top of the caramelized slices and a sprinkle a dusting of cinnamon on top of the batter.  Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes, or till the edges start to dry and bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake, but don’t yet break.  Check for doneness by gently lifting the edge of the pancake with a spatula.  Flip pancake and cooke 1-2 more minutes on the other side.  Watch pancakes carefully, as the second side always cooks faster than the first.  Serve immediately and warm with warm maple syrup.