If you want something different from your usual pancakes, these blueberry cornbread pancakes have a uniquely rich texture and taste.
It’s also much more filling than your usual wheat flour pancakes; just one or two with a cup of coffee is enough for a satisfying breakfast.
You can serve the pancakes with syrup but it’s not necessary. The blueberries add enough flourish, and sweetness.
What You Need?
- ½-cup cornmeal: This is what gives the pancakes their signature textured feel.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour: Yes, you still need good old wheat flour for this recipe. Cornmeal on its own wouldn’t hold the pancakes together because of the lack of gluten.
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- 3 tablespoons sugar: I personally prefer brown sugar but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- 1¼ teaspoons salt: You can use kosher salt.
- 2½ cups buttermilk: You can substitute with the same amount of plain yogurt if you don’t have buttermilk.
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 1½ cups blueberries
- Vegetable or canola oil for use on the skillet
How to Prepare Blueberry Cornbread Pancakes
Mixing Ingredients
Start with the dry ingredients – wheat flour, cornmeal, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar.
Mix them thoroughly then add the wet ingredients into a well at the centre. These include melted butter, buttermilk and eggs.
Whisk until all the ingredients are well mixed. But do not overdo it if you want to keep your pancakes fluffy and airy. A few small lumps are okay.
The last mixing step is to fold the blueberries into the batter.
On the Pan
Add a tablespoon of vegetable or canola oil to a heated pancake griddle or pan. A cast iron pancake pan works great for this recipe because it heats evenly and maintains a constant temperature.
You can also use a stainless steel or aluminium griddle.
Turn the heat to medium and pour about a 1/3 cup of batter onto the hot griddle. If you have a wide griddle, you can cook about 2-3 pancakes at once.
After about 2-4 minutes, flip the pancake. You’ll know it’s time to flip when you see bubbles on the uncooked side. You can also raise the pancake a bit with a spatula to see if the bottom has browned.
Cook the other side and then set aside for serving.
If you are not serving the pancakes immediately, you can keep them in the oven with the temperature set to 90 degrees Celsius.
Tips
- If you want an even distribution of blueberries in your pancakes, don’t fold them into the batter. Instead, press them onto the uncooked side of the pancake once you’ve poured the batter onto the pan. The blueberries will stick to the pancake as the batter cooks.
- Be gentle when flipping the pancakes. Though the eggs do help to hold everything together, the reduced amount of gluten makes them more delicate.
- Do not press down on the pancake once you flip it. This will flatten it and reduce its fluffiness. If you’ve set your heat at medium, the pancakes will cook well all through without having to press them down.
- These pancakes can stick even on a non-stick pan. Don’t skip the oil. If you don’t want to use vegetable or canola oil, you can coat the pan with butter.
- The first pancake is very often not the greatest – here are some tips how to avoid that problem.
