Jan. 27, 2002 – Looking for something unusual for breakfast — a dish that can please the family's palate and dazzle company, too? Try a skillet-baked puffy pancake with a filling of seasonal tropical fruits.
My family loves pancakes, but the thought of cooking stacks of individual ovals of batter isn't very inspiring on a leisurely weekend morning. My short-cut is to make a large "puffy pancake" that will serve us all. Basically, it's pancake batter that is poured into a skillet with melted butter, with the whole skillet then scooted into a hot oven to bake. The trick is in the timing: The high heat of the oven causes the eggs in the batter to puff, leaving a crunchy brown rim but a sweet, soft center that is just waiting to be filled or topped.
Once you've added the filling or topping, cut the pancake into quarter wedges to feed four people at once.
For a basic topping, customary syrups will do. But for something more fun, and more healthful, try fruit. Take a basic mixture of juice, sugar and cornstarch stirred on the stove until thickened, then add any fruits you like. My favorites are oranges, bananas and kiwi. Slices of mango, papaya and pineapple work wonderfully, too.
Gather everyone around the table quickly when you're ready to take the skillet out of the oven, for this pancake's puff will deflate in time. But even if it does, it won't affect the taste.
Puffy Pancake with Tropical Fruit Filling
Pancake:
2 tablespoons butter
4 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, milk, flour, salt and cinnamon. Pour batter into skillet with melted butter. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over top. Bake in a pre-heated 425 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Pancake will puff while baking. Remove skillet from oven and fill center with Fruit Filling (see recipe below). Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Filling:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 fresh orange, peeled and sliced1 ripe banana, peeled and sliced
2 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced
Combine 1/2 cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cornstarch. Heat to boiling; cook 1 minute more while stirring constantly. Stir in sliced fruits.
Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 160 calories, 6 gms fat (34 percent fat calories), 138 mg cholesterol, 235 mg sodium.
