German Apple Pancake (Pfannekuchen)

It's a perfectly cold and windy fall day here.  Despite the calendar, our chickens continue to give us three eggs a day.  We have plenty of beautiful apples around.  And I've been wanting to make a pfannekuchen, and decided that, having an idle Monday morning, I'd go ahead and experiment with this recipe that looked to be simple and tasty.  

This isn't an American pancake.  Apples are sauteed with butter and cinnamon in a cast-iron pan,  batter is poured over it and it is finished up in the oven.  A squirt of lemon juice, some powdered sugar and you have a rich, eggy, delicious breakfast that is super easy to make. I wish I had tried this recipe when it first came on my radar, about 15 years ago.

Pfannekuchen (adapted from Gourmet magazine)

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, divided

1 large sweet apple, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide wedges (I used an organic Fuji apple)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 TB raw or turbinado sugar

1/2 cup milk (2% is fine)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

Fresh lemon juice and confectioners sugar

1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. 

2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in skillet over moderate heat. Add apple wedges to skillet and cook, turning over once, until beginning to soften, 3 to 5 minutes.Sprinkle with cinnamon and turbinado sugar.

3.  While apple is cooking, add milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter,  flour, eggs, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt to blender and blend until smooth. 

4.  Pour batter over apple and transfer skillet to oven. Bake until pancake is puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Dust with confectioners sugar, squeeze on some fresh lemon juice and serve immediately. 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

What could be better on an autumn morning than spicy pumpkin muffins?  With all the pumpkin around this time of year, this is the perfect time to make these flavorful, not-too-sweet muffins.

 

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

adapted from epicurious.com

·         1/3 cup golden raisins, soaked in orange liquor or rum for 15 minutes and drained if needed

·         1  ½  cups all-purpose flour

·         ½ cup whole wheat flour

·         2 teaspoon baking powder

·         ¼  teaspoon baking soda

·         1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

·         ¾  teaspoon ground ginger

·         1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

·         1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

·         ½  teaspoon salt

·         1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

·         ¾  cup packed light brown sugar

·         ¾  cup canned pure pumpkin

·         ¼  cup well-shaken buttermilk

·         2 large eggs

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1/3  cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. Butter muffin pan if not nonstick, or add paper muffin cups. 

Whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl, whisk together butter, brown sugar, pumpkin, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. 

Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined, then stir in raisins and pecans. 

Divide batter among muffin cups bake until a wooden pick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly on a rack.