Organic Strawberry Syrup and Pancakes (or…)
It’s strawberry season! And after two years of modest harvests the fields are overflowing–what a welcome sight!
Sliced Strawberries
And so I bought 4 cases from my CSA.
For the detail oriented, that’s 60 lbs. We gorged ourselves, froze berries, dipped berries in chocolate, made three varieties of jam (recipes next year, I promise), then wondered what to do next.
Hmmm, make strawberry syrup? Have guests over for a pancake breakfast? Ding, ding, ding!
Strawberry Pancakes, Served
In the past, I’d always made my pancakes from an organic mix (except for my Swedish Pancakes) but as I try to do more and more from scratch, I went out to the internet and found a recipe on the blog Skinny Taste. I didn’t have the white whole wheat flour that the blogger used, so I used half whole wheat and half “Gold N White” (which is like unbleached all purpose with the wheat germ). And just like she promised, the pancakes were perfect the first time.
Pancakes with Strawberries
The syrup took a little time on the stove, but was really easy and tasty–not to mention fruitier and less sweet than a commercial syrup. I made it the day before and which made prep super easy the day of. When breakfast was over and we had some left over, no one was sad at all…
Homemade Strawberry Syrup
What do you do with leftover strawberry syrup? Pour it on ice cream, add it to milk (the kids laughed but it was delicious), make berry iced tea, swirl it on a dessert plate to look gourmet, or ???
Strawberry Syrup
- 3 cups strawberries
- 1/2 c water
- 1/2 c sugar
Directions
1. Hull and halve the berries and place them with the water in a saucepan. Heat until they begin to soften. Puree the mixture.
Puree berries
2. Strain the berries through a strainer (or cheesecloth if you are more obsessive than me). Discard (compost) the pulp, and return the berry juice to a rinsed saucepan. Add the sugar.
Strain berries
Return juice to saucepan and add sugar
3. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes. Skim the foam if needed (a tip from jam making–adding 1/4 tsp butter to the ingredients can reduce foaming, though it may impact product clarity)
4. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and use quickly (there probably isn’t enough sugar to keep fresh for an extended period like jam)
(Mostly) Whole Wheat Pancakes
Makes about 4 servings, adapted from Skinny Taste
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all purpose flour (I used “Gold N White” which is a bit heartier)
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups milk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- cooking spray
Directions
1. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix well; don’t over-mix.
2. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Lightly spray oil to coat and pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter. When there are large bubble on the pancake surface and the edges begin to set, flip the pancakes. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.
Cook pancakes. Note–stainless steel works great.
Pancakes
Pancakes and strawberries
Also linked at Real Food Wednesday, Foodgawker.
- What’s Your Favorite Flavor Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Arugula Salad
Pingback: Start the New Year Right with Whole Wheat Waffles | Art of Natural LivingArt of Natural Living
I LOVE that you made everything from start to finish, you’re a rockstar!
Thanks!
look really really delicious!!
We enjoyed them so much Gloria! Just finished them off!
Your photo of the sliced strawberries makes me want to reach into my computer and have some. This sounds like such a lovely recipe…a must try! Have a great weekend!
The local strawberries are done now–they go so quickly! Have a great weekend too Kathy!
I’m dealing with a glut of strawberries too, mind you it’s not on your scale! And now I know what I want for my weekend brunch! Think I’ll give these pancakes a go, I’m more used to the French/English crepe style ones so let’s go globe trotting via a plate!
Have a great brunch Claire!
Beautiful photos! I’d be tempted to let the strawberry pulp stay in the syrup and think of it as sort of compote, but the whole dish looks delicious.
Thanks for visiting during Louise’s picnic game… I’ve been traveling but now I’m back to reading other people’s blogs and finishing up a series of posts on Paris where I definitely saw lots of red berries.
THanks Mae! I did think about leaving in some or all of the puree–I’ve had strawberry syrup on ice cream with bits of strawberry in it. In the end I went the strained route so I could make strawberry milk and decorate plates. But perhaps next year, I could do it both ways, now that I am more experienced!
60 pounds of strawberries! Oh my word, Inger! I’ve seen a few recipes for drying strawberries on Pinterest. Are you going to toy with the idea?
Love the syrup and the pancakes and the fact that they marry so well together!
Thank you so much for sharing…I’m shaking my head as I repeat; 60 pounds!
You know my kids used to go through tons of fruit leather when they were younger and I’m pretty sure they’d still enjoy it. I never even thought of drying (I even own a dehydrator) and the berries are all processed now. Ah well, there’s always next year! Thanks for the suggestion Louise!
Those strawberries look sinful and delicious!
Isn’t it great when something can be sinfully good AND good for you!
This looks delicious! I’m really tempted to make this for an upcoming family gathering, but we’ve got quite a drive and I don’t think I’ll be able to keep it cool the whole way. I guess I *could* just halve the recipe. 🙂
I don’t know how far your drive is but berries getting mushy would probably be your biggest challenge (I once tried to keep strawberries overnight in a hotel ice bucket them home in a soda cooler-some of them made it 😉 ). Right now I am grappling with how to get sausages back from Minneapolis (6 hours) and wondering how hard and expensive it is to get dry ice… Ah the things we do for good food!
Love your stacked pancake photos! That’s something I struggle with photographing.
Thanks, Karis–even Foodgawker took this one! Alas, my poor husband ended up eating cold pancakes after this ;-). Oh the challenges of being married to a food blogger!
These pancakes look so delicious, perfect for the morning (or dinner :D)
Cheers
CCU
I am a big fan of pancakes for dinner too!