Blueberry buttermilk pancakes

On this truly heinous (weather-wise) Sunday morning, where it's monsooning outside and as dark as 9pm, a leisurely brunch was in order. We had extra buttermilk from our creme fraiche-making excursion, so I searched for interesting buttermilk recipes and came across Williams-Sonoma's pancake recipe. David and I had never made pancakes from scratch before, but it seemed a worthwhile endeavour, as we had all the necessary ingredients already.

Recipe

Serves 2from Williams-Sonoma Kitchen1 egg1 cup all-purpose flour1-1/2 tbsp sugar1 tsp baking powder1/2 tsp baking soda1/2 tsp salt1-1/8 cup buttermilk2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted1/4 tsp vanilla extract1/2 cup blueberriesPreheat oven to 200 F. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs on medium speed until frothy. Add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Stir just until batter is smooth and no lumps of flour remain. Do not overmix. Heat electric griddle or pan to medium-high heat. Grease with oil or butter and ladle about 1/3 cup batter onto the pan for each pancake. Scatter about 1 tbsp of blueberries evenly over each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and batter is set, then flip and cook until golden brown on the other side. Transfer to baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.

Musings

A few notes on preparation: To top off the pancakes, David whipped creme fraiche with a bit of sugar instead of traditional whipping cream.David declared, without hesitation, that they were the best pancakes he had ever made. Worlds better than the packaged, Aunt Jemima pancakes we normally eat. They were so much fluffier and much easier to make crispy on the outside. The creme fraiche whipped cream was sinfully delicious along side it, as it was tangy, sweet and smooth, against the crispiness of the pancakes. Blueberries, as always, were also a good addition--tart and juicy (little molten blueberry bombs when eaten too soon after the pancake left the pan). Well worth making from scratch, as it really doesn't take that much longer and is so so much better.