Brown Buttered Figs and Lemon Pancakes..a little treat for Brunch

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
-Adelle Davis-

Good day all..and hope just like me, you are also looking forward to tomorrow's Brunch..lazing around for Sunday and taking it easy. A day to relax, and doing things that we love to do, be it family time, sleep-ins, hours of cooking a storm and baking for the neighbourhood, or just shopping around in the malls and a long leisurely walk in nearby parks. Despite my usual enthusiasm to do-it-all for the only day of the week that the whole family is reunited, it is usually futile to achieve a lot in 24 hours and more often than not, I would start my monday with some unfinished business- some ageing egg whites yet to be macaronage (yet again!), piles of clothes yet to be ironed and hung, some bookmarked crafts ideas for the little toddler that alas remain just bookmarks..then the whole cycle repeats itself.

One thing I don't compromise though, is a good breakfast on Sunday. Be it some simple 5 minutes griddle or an elaborate Asian fare, I try to achieve some family time on table, lure the little baby and the Big Baby to breakfast table with some treats. Varying palate they have, and so difficult to please! Instead of force feeding them the same thing again and again, I recreated our usual platter with different twist.



That is how these pancakes were recreated. Nothing creative, just some leftover dried fruits and a bounty of lemons to be used. And what an excellent pairing it was!

The pancake batter only took minutes to be mixed, and voila, should remain one of the last-minute breakfast choices if you are like me, always rushing for time. I usually throw in anything I have in my larder-cinnamon and raisin for some friends who came and stayed over (turned out to be a big hit!), pears and apple, or even chocolate chips. I love those varieties, rather than sticking to the same old blueberries. Sometimes, Couscous loves just plain pancakes so that's what I would do. With some generous drizzle of maple syrup or honey. Even ice-cream when she was too fussed to eat!


Play around with the basic recipe. Create the version that you like, with ingredients that you have. At least you know you can sleep in and still have a brunch ready in minutes!

Brown Buttered Figs and Lemon Pancakes
makes 8

2 cups plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 medium sized eggs
3 tbsp butter-melted until browned
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 dried figs-chopped coarsely
lemon zest from 1 lemon
4 tbsp lemon juice

Method
1. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt and lemon zest.
2. In separate bowl, whisk the eggs with milk, melted brown butter and buttermilk. Add the lemon juice. Pour the wet ingredients to the flour and mix well until smooth batter is formed with no lumps.
3. Heat a skillet and spray with some cooking spray or a dash of melted butter. Using a ladle, pour a laddle or 1/4 cup of batter onto the skillet. Cook until bubbles are formed before flipping the pancake to cook the other side.
4. Serve warm with maple syrup, fresh fruits, or even Greek yogurt.