August's Book Recipe: Hummingbird Pancakes

Hi everyone! Here is the first edition of my recipes related to books post.

This week my choice is Hummingbird Pancakes. Hummingbird Cake (which these pancakes are a variation on) is similar to carrot cake, but uses banana and pineapple. To me Hummingbird Cake screams summer. It is also an important cake in one of my favorite books, The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen.

Food plays an important role in her novels, and you can often find recipes at the end. If you haven't read any of her books, I highly suggest them.

I got my Hummingbird Pancake recipe from Southern Living. It turns out that when their original Hummingbird Cake recipe was printed in 1978 it wound up being the most requested recipe in their history! That's some pretty good cake.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas 
• 1/2 cup drained, canned crushed pineapple in juice
• 1/3 cup sugar 
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten 
• 3 tablespoons canola oil 
• 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
• Cream Cheese Anglaise
• Garnishes: sliced bananas, chopped fresh pineapple 

Preparation

1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk and next 5 ingredients in another bowl. Gradually stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in toasted pecans. Pour about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot buttered griddle or large nonstick skillet. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look dry and cooked. Turn and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until done. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet, and keep warm in a 200° oven up to 30 minutes. Serve with Cream Cheese Anglaise.
2. Note: When using a griddle, heat it to 350°.
3. Tip: For tender pancakes, don't overmix the batter; it should be lumpy.

Southern Living
DECEMBER 2012