Whenever we are in for a long lazy weekend, I make some kind of pancakes for breakfast. These ones are a blast from the past – a delicious treat from my childhood. In Russian we call them “oladushki“. This type of mini pancakes are made with kefir, or laban, instead of milk, which adds a distinctive sour taste to the batter. The sourness is compensated by serving oladushki with sweet condiments such as honey, preserves or quite simply sour cream mixed with sugar. In this version I add shredded apples to the batter. When cooked, apples soften and create a slightly gooey texture which feels as if the pancakes are melting in your mouth.
Batter Ingredients:
Flour + Laban + Egg + Sugar + Grated Apples
Flour: use regular, all-purpose flour for this recipe.
Laban: an alternative to milk or cream, laban imparts a distinctive sour flavour to the batter and makes it thicker.
Apples: sweet apples provide a nice contrast to the sourness of the batter. Jazz, Fuji or Royal gala are all grate choices.
Egg: use one large egg.
Sugar: helps balance the sourness from the laban.
Preparation Tips for Mini Pancakes with Grated Apples:
Use a mixer to combine laban and the flour. Take your time to make sure there aren’t any lumps in the batter.
Stir in one egg and sugar and keep mixing until the sugar dissolves.
Grate the apples over the larger side of the grater. Place them into a fine mesh and squeeze the excess water out. Add them to the batter and stir to combine.
If possible, use two large pans to speed up the process. Heat 2 tsbp of cooking oil in each one of them to medium-high and use a ladle to scoop some batter. You should aim to have 6 mini pancakes fitting into a 28cm pan, without their edges touching.
Once the surface of the pancakes turns opaque, use a spatula to flip them. They typically need about 2 minutes on each side.
Serving Suggestions:
Apple pancakes go particularly well with sour cream mixed with sugar. Raw honey, maple syrup or nutella are also great choices.
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Apple Pancakes
Equipment
- 1 Frying Pan
- 1 Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 350 g All Purpose Flour
- 800 ml Activia Laban
- 1 Egg
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2-3 Sweet Apples like Jazz, Fuji or Royal gala, peeled and grated
- Olive Oil for frying
- Sour Cream and/or honey for serving
Instructions
- Make the batter by stirring 800 ml Activia Laban into 350 g All Purpose Flour. Add the 1 Egg and 2 tbsp Sugar and mix everything together until the consistency is smooth and slightly thick and there are no lumps left. Add the grated apples and give it another mix.
- In a large frying pan, heat about 1 tbsp of olive oil to medium-high.
- Use a ladle to scoop the batter and pour slowly onto the pan to form small pancakes (one full ladle would yield 3 pancakes). Try to space them around so that the edges don’t touch. A large pan should fit about 6 pancakes.
- Fry over medium heat until golden brown (about 2 minutes), then flip and continue frying on lower heat, this will help the pancakes cook through (about 3-4 minutes).
Notes
- Depending on appetite, above quantities will yield enough pancakes for 4-6 family members and it will take approximately one hour of frying (two large pans, low-medium heat, about 10 mins per batch).
