Clinton St. Baking Co. Pancakes

In a previous post I had mentioned that Martha's buttermilk pancakes were my favourite breakfast recipe.  Well move over Martha, you have been replaced by Neil Kleinberg of Clinton St Baking Company in NYC.  My lovely husband bought me several cookbooks for Christmas, one of which was the Clinton St Baking Company cookbook.  Their pancake chapter boldly declares "The best in New York".  So of course I had to try them.  Only having been to NYC once I'm certainly no expert on the best pancakes, but I can tell you these are the best I have ever eaten, in a restaurant or otherwise.

The secret is surely the whipped eggs whites which are folded into the slightly lumpy batter.  These pancakes cooked up like little clouds, just perfect.  The flavour is more than just a plain pancake, they're absolutely delicious.  We had them with with maple syrup, but they are so good you could eat them plain.  They're definitely a little more work than most pancake recipes, but so worth it.  The recipe also halves easily if you're only making them for a few people.  I can't wait to add some blueberries next time.

Neil's Pancakes 
from Clinton St Baking Company

Ingredients

Makes 18 to 20 3-inch pancakes

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 teaspoons unmelted for cooking
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting (optional)

Directions

1. Sift flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt into a large bowl.
2. In medium bowl, whisk together yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. Whisk yolk mixture into flour mixture until just combined; batter will be slightly lumpy.
3. Place egg white in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or whisk by hand, until medium peaks form. Gently mix half the egg whites into batter with a rubber spatula. Gently fold in remaining whites. The egg whites should not be fully incorporated into the batter.
4. Heat a griddle until hot, about 350 to 375 degrees. Add remaining unmelted butter to hot griddle. Add 1/4 cup pancake batter and let set. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon chopped walnuts, if using, over pancakes. When bubbles begin to form, lift pancake; if golden brown, turn. Cook until golden brown on remaining side.
5. Transfer cooked pancake to a plate and keep warm. Repeat process with remaining batter, fruit, and nuts. Garnish with confectioners' sugar for blueberry pancakes and cinnamon sugar for banana-walnut.