Charlotte Pike

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Fluffy Pancakes with Poached Cherries and Cream

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This is one of my favourite pancake recipes. The cherries make a very nice accompaniment, but other fresh or poached seasonal fruits work fantastically well too. Poached apples and blackberries are delicious, as are pears with vanilla or rum, as is poached rhubarb and orange. Fresh berries are excellent when at their best.

Fluffy Pancakes with Poached Cherries and Cream

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the pancakes

200ml whole milk

1tsp lemon juice

50g butter, plus possibly a little extra to cook the pancakes

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g caster sugar

Pinch sea salt

1 egg, separated

For the poached cherries

500g cherries, pitted (frozen are fine)

125g caster sugar

Juice and zest of a large orange

1 small cinnamon stick

100ml water

To serve

250ml double cream, softly whipped

 

Method

First, poach the cherries. Put all the ingredients together into a small saucepan. Simmer gently for around 15 minutes until the cherries are softened. Taste, adjust the sugar levels if needed, and set aside to cool.

Softly whip the cream and place in the fridge to chill.

Now, move on to the pancakes. Start by putting the milk into a little jug and add the lemon juice. Set aside. Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan into which you will cook the pancakes later on. When the butter is melted, turn off the heat and set aside too.

Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Take a whisk and stir together. Add the milk, melted butter and egg yolk and whisk this thick batter together until smooth. Separately, whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks, and fold into the batter.

Heat the pan over a moderate heat, adding a little extra butter if needed. Spoon the pancake batter into the pan, a few spoons at a time and cook the pancakes on both sides until browned, puffy and the batter has set. Serve the pancakes hot, with poached cherries and whipped cream.

2022 Class Dates

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At the time of writing (4th January 2022), I currently have classes scheduled over the coming months at

Dates and tickets are available on the school websites if you are interested in learning more. Gift vouchers are also available. In the event of any uncertainty over dates, please contact the school directly for an update

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

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This is a particularly delicious summer fruit galette. The galette is a flat, free form tart, which is made from one sheet of pastry that is topped with filling and the edges folded in to encase the filling ingredients and all their lovely juices. It’s a particularly quick and easy way to bake with pastry.

The combination of strawberries and rhubarb is especially delicious, and one I’d urge you to try if you have not already. It is a particularly good combination to try at this time of year when the first english strawberries arrive, giving sweetness and fragrance to this sublime tart.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Galette

This is a wonderful fruit galette that can be made with any seasonal fruit. Try rhubarb, strawberries, plums, apples, for example.

©Charlotte Pike

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

 

For the pastry

375g plain flour

50g cornflour

100g caster sugar

200g butter, chilled and cut into 1cm dice

75g Greek yoghurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs, beaten

3 tbsp demerara sugar

 

For the filling

1kg total prepared weight of sliced rhubarb, and hulled, sliced strawberries

100g caster sugar

 

Method

 

Start by making the pastry. Place the flour, cornflour and caster sugar together into a bowl and stir together to combine. Add the diced butter and rub well to form a rough breadcrumb consistency. Add the yoghurt, lemon juice, salt and one beaten egg and mix to bring all the ingredients together into a smooth dough. Bring the pastry into a ball, flatten it into a disc, wrap well and chill in the fridge.

Meanwhile, prepare the fruit. It can be sliced as thickly or thinly as you wish, where appropriate. Sprinkle the sugar over the fruit and leave it to macerate.

Once the pastry has been chilled for at least 20 minutes, preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4 and roll out to form a circle around 40cm in diameter. Transfer to a large non-stick baking sheet, covered in a piece of non-stick baking paper, or a silicone mat. Pile the fruit in the centre of the pastry, scraping all the sugary juices out of the bowl onto the fruit. Fold the edges roughly in around the fruit, leaving the centre uncovered by pastry. Brush the remaining beaten egg over the exposed pastry edges before sprinkling the demerara sugar over the pastry.  Bake for 35-45 minutes until the fruit is tender and pastry is golden brown. Serve warm or cold, with cream, ice cream or custard.