A few weeks ago, I tweeted a picture (like I always tweet of my meals – follow my instagram feed here), of some hot, sticky ClemenGold compote that I made for our ritual weekly-in-winter pancakes.  ClemenGold has since asked me to work with them to develop a few recipes and since this versatile citrus is one we love at home, I was more than happy to do so. The fruit is ripe and sun-sweetened but has a touch of tartness that separates them from an ordinary mandarin or naartjie. This is the ultimate drawcard in judging a balanced citrus for my husband.

I’m delighted to share Jelle’s pancake recipe with you! I arranged the pancakes into a decadent ‘cake’ sandwiched with marmalade and whipped cream and topped with a golden crown of hot and sticky ClemenGold compote and citrus zest. A wonderful cake to delight the family and treat friends for tea.

Jelle has honed his pancake recipe and this is his current most perfect version that ensures a thin pancake, not quite crepe but far from stodgy. He’s used the classic 1-2-3 method in the past but strongly feels these proportions in his recipe are ideal.  We use a small Le Crueset egg pan to make the small sized pancakes, utterly adorable and their mini sized pan, just slightly bigger than this egg pan to make “medium” sized pancakes, both perfect for stacking into a cake such as this one.

Ingredients

Serves 6

For the Pancakes:

200 g cake flour

1 egg

5 ml vanilla extract

1 ml salt

450 ml milk

For the compote

6 ClemenGolds, peeled and separated into segments

1 small lime

2 T white sugar

zest of 1/2 lime, 1/2 lemon, 1/2 grapefruit

500 ml fresh cream, whipped, to decorate

orange or lemon marmalade, a teaspoon for each pancake

butter for frying

Method

For Jelle’s Perfect Pancakes:

Add the flour, egg, vanilla and salt to a mixing bowl.

Add 200 ml of milk and beat with a wire whisk for a minute or two, until smooth

Add the rest of the milk and beat well.

Scoop with a ladle and add a thin layer of batter to a small, thick based frying pan on medium heat, adding a pat of butter before each new addition.

Swirl the pan as soon as you add the batter, so that the pancake is even in thickness.

Once the surface starts to colour and bubbles form along the edge of the pancake, flip over. You want each side to be lightly browned.

Try to keep the size of each pancake uniform.

The first pancake is far from perfect, says Jelle.

For the Compote:

In a wide based, non-stick pan, add the ClemenGold segments on medium heat.

After a minute, squeeze in the lime juice, stirring.

Once the segments soften, add the sugar, stirring gently. Allow the sugar to dissolve and caramelise as the juices of the fruit evaporate. Make sure you don’t stir too roughly, try to keep each segment whole.

Once soft but keeping their shape, remove from the heat and set aside. I have also made a version where I cooked the segments longer until very sticky and caramelized, starting to brown. Both versions are excellent.

Assemble the Pancake Stack Cake

In the meanwhile spread a pancake with some marmalade left to heat to room temperature, or heat  the marmalade up and spread if it’s cold where you are.

Add some whipped cream (about a tablespoon and a half) to each layer, after the marmalade and repeat with the remaining layers, stacking as you go.

If there is any size variation, add the larger pancakes to the bottom and the smaller ones at the top.

Heat the ClemenGold compote briefly and ladle over  the stacked cake, reserving some to serve. Add the citrus zest over the compote.

Drizzle whatever fruit juices are left in the pan over the pancake stack cake. Slice and serve with extra compote

 

*This recipe forms part of a carefully curated segment of Food & The Fab Endorsed posts, and I will be remunerated for this one*

Print Friendly, PDF & Email