Thursday, July 12, 2012

Blueberry Corn Cakes

Blueberry Corn Cakes with Faux Sausage Patties
Little bitty Denton, Texas, has become a hotbed of foodie activity.

We've always had two universities and a thriving music scene, but recently the powers that be installed a train that runs down to the Dallas County line .... where you can meet up with the Dallas County transit system.  This has made it more convenient for Dallasites to live in and visit Denton, and that means we've gone all citified.

Again, Denton has never been a wasteland, food-wise.  As long as I've lived here (seven years), we've had a handful of excellent Thai restaurants, a real French bakery, and some mighty fine Tex-Mex.  But recently we've added a Love Shack (the burger join run by celebrity chef Tim Love), a great pizza establishment, a real honest-to-East-Coast deli, and more little breakfast/brunch/coffee places than you can shake a stick at.

A couple of my friends have taken it upon themselves to do an informal "best of," so that we can separate the wheat from the chaff in this burgeoning culinary world.  Their first taste test was for migas (a south-of-the-border breakfast dish traditionally made with eggs, sausage, and tortillas).  Since I don't care for either sausage or eggs, I have been joining them as more of an on-looker.

It was in this capacity--migas observer--that I had a chance to try to the Johnny cakes (here, corn pancakes) at the Loco Cafe.  Oh yum.

Those Johnny cakes, topped with a cinnamon apple compote, inspired today's recipe:  corn pancakes with blueberries.  This is a simple recipe, and the corn flavor is not overpowering.  If you're feeling fancy, melt about 2 Tbs. butter with a cup of maple syrup to serve alongside the cakes.

Blueberry Corn Cakes
(originally printed in Bon Appetit)

Makes 10 - 12 pancakes

3/4 c. flour
3/4 c. cornmeal
2 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. each baking soda, baking powder, and salt
1 1/4 c. buttermilk*
2 eggs
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 pint blueberries, rinsed and picked over.

Sift dry ingredients together.  Whisk wet ingredients together.  Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until no lumps remain.

Preheat oven to 300; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Heat griddle or large frying pan, sprayed with nonstick spray, over medium heat until a bit of water sprinkled on the surface sizzles.  Add pancake batter by 1/4 cupfuls, careful not to let pancakes touch.  Sprinkle each pancake with a handful of blueberries.

Batter, sprinkled with blueberries

Corn cake, post flipping

Cook until bubbles form on surface and edges start to look dry (about 1 1/2 minutes).  Flip, and cook on the other side until golden (about 1 minute more).  Transfer to parchment lined sheet and keep warm in oven while you continue cooking remaining pancakes.

*  I don't keep buttermilk on hand, but I do keep buttermilk powder.  I used 5 Tbs. buttermilk powder added to the dry ingredients and 1 1/4 c. water added to the wet.

6 comments:

  1. You are making me hungry with the description of your town--and your friends! And those pancakes...we have guests coming will have to try them.

    And very clever about the buttermilk powder. Usually I buy it for a recipe and then the remainder sits in the frig until it goes bad.

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  2. Lucy - buttermilk powder is the best. It keeps forever in the fridge, and it allows me to make biscuits, waffles, pancakes, and coffeecake without ever buying regular, spoilable dairy milk. It's one of my "pantry" staples.

    Hope you and your company enjoy these!!

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  3. Wendy, the cornmeal is a nice switch in pancakes. I love blueberry pancakes. When you don't mix use the maple syrup mixture, how do you serve them?

    ~ Krista

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  4. Hi Wendy,

    I'm a fellow Dentonite! I've been reading this blog for a few months and had no idea anyone on here was living in Denton :) Ditto about the restaurants in Denton, especially Loco Cafe, love it. What's you favorite Thai restaurant here? I love Sweet Basil.

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  5. Karen!! Fellow Dentonite! Very cool. As for Thai, I love Thai Off the Square (is that what it's called?) and Andamam, but Sweet Basil is pretty awesome, too. We're so lucky.

    Krista, they're also good with honey or agave. Or just straight pancake syrup. I like the extra sweet ...

    Though I did throw the leftovers in the toaster oven and ate them straight, no butter or anything. :)

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  6. Wendy, I ate at the Thai restaurant on the square when it was near UNT, but not since then; it was very good and authentic. Have you been to 7 mile cafe near the Cupboard? They have an awesome breakfast.

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