Pancake Challenge #6) Moroccan Beghrir Pancake

 

After my attempt at Msemmen had utterly failed, I’ve been too scared of yeast to either of these recipe.  However as I did want to try something special for Lee on our Sunday Brunch (that just so HAPPENED to fall on our 7 months), I decided it was finally to confront my fear and attempt this pancake all the way from Morocco.

Learning from my previous mistake, I made sure the water was LUKE WARM (~45 degree Celsius). The batter, after resting for 30 minutes, looked ‘fluffy’ as the recipe asked but I was still dubious as to whether bubbles would really form on top of the pancake as promised.

You have to factor in my serious doubt for the recipe to understand that the rather manic and silly dance I did, witnessing numerous bubbles appear on the top of the batter, was indeed a very appropriate reaction!

It was BEAUTIFUL! The secret to numerous & big bubbles was to drizzle enough oil (just enough to cover) so that the bottom of the pancake can be ‘fried’. That way the pancake turns into a beautiful ‘hive’ of a pancake with a crispy bottom.

I was surprised that the recipe did not call for any additional sugar (except ¼ teaspoon for the yeast) and it tasted rather savory without the honey sauce on top.  The Orange Water in the honey sauce is a MUST as the simple fragrance completely complements the savory pancake. The sauce was thick enough so that instead of drizzling it, I chose to spread it with a knife instead so that it didn’t end up becoming overly sweet.

I definitely loved this recipe and the taste of Semolina! I’ll definitely have to restock the grain/flour and use it in other recipes as well…..

Perhaps I’ll even re-attempt making Msemmen then…

Moroccan Beghrir

(recipe yields enough pancake for 2-3)

follwed from Allrecipe  recipe by rie1975

¼ teaspoon of sugar

½ cups of water

¼ teaspoon of yeast (I used instant dry yeast and it worked perfectly!)

½ cup of semolina flour

½ cup of all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat and it worked fine)

½ teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt

½ cup of milk

1 egg

Honey Sauce

3 tablespoon of butter

¼ cup of honey

1 tablespoon of Orange Blossom Water

 Instructions

1. Pour 1/2 cup of warm water (45 degree C) into a blender with yeast and sugar and let it sit for ~5 minutes until the yeast forms a creamy milk-white foam
2. Add in the egg, flour, baking powder, salt and milk and blend for ~ 1 minute
3. Let it sit in the blender for ~ 30 minutes 
4. While waiting for the batter - measure out 3 tablespoon of butter (unsalted) and 1/4 cup of honey and 1 tablespoon of Orange Blossum Water and you can either: 
1. Place in a small sauce-pan and melt over low heat while stirring
2. or place in a microwave safe bowl and melt the butter over high heat (1 - 2 min) and stir
5. After 30 minutes heat a non-stick pan at medium-high heat and drizzle vegetable oil / butter
6. You can either make a 5 inch pancake (1/4 cup) or alternatively make smaller mini-sized beghrir (~ 2tbsp). 
7. DO NOT FLIP the batter but let it cook on one side for ~ 3min until the batter is no longer shiny on the top and the bottom is nicely browned and crispy (you can adjust the heat so that the bottom doesn't brown too quickly before the top is cooked) 
8. Repeat steps quickly blending the batter after 3 - 4 batches 
9. You can quickly re-heat the honey sauce before serving

Pancake Challenge #2) French Orange Flower Water Crepes with Cognac

(as adapted from Crêpes au Cognac et arôme de fleur d'oranger)

This one took a little more preparation and searching than I had expected. After failing to find Orange Blossom Water (or sometimes known as Orange Flower Water) in Korea, I had to wait for my next iHerb!

Orange Blossom (or flower) Water is the perfumed water created as a by-product of distillation of fresh bitter orange blossoms (which are distilled for their essential oil). Although it is often used in baking,  cocktails (it's in my favourite gin-fizz!) and even perfumes, it's as commonly found in shops.

I came upon this recipe when I was searching for the recipe of my favourite cognac crepes. When I was a kid, they used to serve it as a dessert at our family's favourite Teppanyaki restaurant we went once a year for birthdays.

After brushing up on my limited French and compiling several recipes found on the internet, we started our Sunday with Crêpes au Cognac et arôme de fluer d'oranger (Crepes with Cognac and Orange Flower Water). I also made a simple orange sauce to drizzle over the crepes, which despite its simplicity was unexpectedly a winner!

Crêpes au Cognac et arôme de fluer d'oranger

(makes 2 - around 6 to 8 crepes depending on size)

Ingredients (Pancake): 

• 3 medium eggs
• 1 1/4cup of milk
• 3 table spoon of butter (unsalted)
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1 tbsp of Brown Sugar (or caster sugar) 
• 1 tbsp of Orange Blossum Water (plus a tea-spoon if you like the scent!)
• 1 tbsp of Cognac (or more)

Ingredients (Orange Syrup):

• 1 cup of Orange Juice (freshly squeezed works best if not 100% natural juice)
• 1 tbsp of brown sugar (or caster sugar)  
• 1/4 teaspoon of Orange Blossum Water (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest 
• 1 tsp of Cognac (Optional)

Steps:
If you're making the syrup - start with it first and let it simmer whilst you cook the pancakes!

1. In a small saucepan add all the ingredients
2. Simmer the sauce in Low-Med heat until the sauce thickens (10 - 15 minutes)
3. If you're feeling rather indulgent - add in a tablespoon of butter to melt in 

(In the spirit of keeping things simple and 1 bowl)

1. Melt the butter in a bowl (or if you leave it out - softened butter works well too)
2. Whisk in the eggs and whip until well mixed
3. Add in the milk, vanilla and Orange  mix well 
4. Using a sifter add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, sugar)
5. Mix until there are no lumps and the batter is smooth 
6. Add in the cognac (seriously go for more if you like it
7. Heat the non-stick frying pan in Medium-High heat and lightly oil the pan with butter or vegetable oil
8. Take 2-3 Tbsp (or a small laddle) of batter and pour in the middle of the pan
9. Taking the bottom of laddle spread out the batter into a thin mixture in a circular motion
10. As the batter is thin it'll be ready to be flipped after 30 - 45 seconds
11. Cook on both sides and transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm!

You can either eat them flat like a pancake (and add bananas like Lee did in an attempt to create 'pancake art' suitable for instagram) or roll them up like I did!
Either way make sure you give a good drizzle of the orange syrup on top... and then eat your heart away on a lazy Sunday :)