You're Making A Mistake By Not Adding Sugar To Pancakes
Whether you want to admit it or not, we're all on team sweet breakfast at the end of the day. It's hard to resist a bite of pancake when the person sitting next to you at brunch offers, especially when the pancakes are the perfect thickness and color, and have a golden-brown rim. There's no need for pancakes to be overly sweet, though, and it's nice to be able to control the amount of maple syrup on top. If you like your pancakes on the less-sweet side, you might be tempted to cut out the sugar from your recipe altogether, but ultimately, it's a mistake to not add sugar to pancakes. Even the smallest amount matters.
To achieve pancakes you'll want to make every morning, sugar makes all the difference, as it's the sole factor in the caramelization process. Sugar reacts with the stove's heat to create a golden-brown pancake that's crispy around the edges. The pancake doesn't necessarily need the sweetness — rather, it needs the extra bit of crunch that takes it from sad and floppy to worthy of the finest maple syrup. Much like a crème brûlée's caramelized top, pancakes will also benefit from the deep, burnt flavor that caramelized sugar imparts.
Read more: Ingredients To Take Your Scrambled Eggs To The Next Level
Crispy Pancakes Are Perfect For A Decadent Brunch
Crispy-edged pancakes are all the buzz in brunch scenes. Brooklyn restaurant Chez Ma Tante, for example, made a name for itself with its crispy-edged brunch pancakes, which have gone viral on TikTok for their "big, crispy rims" and "tender, buttery crumb." A flapjack that's fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside makes for a textural contrast that's the defining quality of chic brunch pancakes. When recreating these flapjacks at home, a little bit of sugar in the batter makes a big difference.
If you really want to bump up your basic homemade pancake recipe on the crispy scale, including sugar and cooking them in butter will give them a fried-like effect. Chez Ma Tante, for example, uses both sugar for caramelization and clarified butter for a delicate crisp. Naturally, serving these decadent pancakes up with an extra pat of butter is a requirement, and you can't skip the healthy drizzle of maple syrup. These classic pancake toppings will let the delicate texture of the crispy pancakes shine through, but that's not to say you shouldn't add more. Blackberries and blueberries are a good pick for their subtle flavor, and a raspberry compote will add a tang to balance out the maple syrup.
Read the original article on Mashed.
