Buttermilk pancakes with blueberries

Pancake stack #1

Pancake stack #2

Every Monday should start with pancakes for breakfast! That's what I thought this morning after I made my first batch of buttermilk pancakes.

Somehow I often get pancakes for breakfast or brunch when in the US but never thought of making them myself. This morning I had loads of blueberries and half a liter of buttermilk so I said, let's try! And I did not regret it :-)
The batter takes 5 min to prepare and each pancake stays in the pan for about 3-4 min... so it's pretty quick and it's a great way to start the day (provided you go spend those extra calories afterwards :-p ).

Blueberry buttermilk pancakes are a great classic with maple syrup and next time I'll make them with chocolate chips!

Recipe for 10 buttermilk pancakes

2 eggs, lightly beaten
4.8 dl buttermilk
4 tbsp melted butter
4.8 dl flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
blueberries or chocolate chips
lots of maple syrup
some butter

Mix wet ingredients in a bowl. In another bowl mix dry ingredients. Whisk both mixes together until barely incorporated (there will be small clumps).
Heat up a pan/griddle, brush some butter on it and pour about 1-1.2 dl of the batter onto the pan. If you wish to, add here blueberries or chocolate chips. Let it grill for about 1-2 min on medium heat (until the corners look cooked and bubbles pop on the pancake) and then flip, let grill for another 1-2 min until golden on both sides.
Serve as a stack of 3-4 pancakes with lots of maple syrup  and some (whipped) butter too. Enjoy ASAP (they're best straight from the pan and warm).

Chocolate chip chocolate muffins

Two years ago I baked chocolate chip muffins but I thought they were not chocolaty enough. Now I tried and mixed different recipes, and this one is my favorite: chocolate dough with melted chocolate plus chocolate chips. They're perfect!

I suggest you don't bake them unless you are ready to eat them all... last Sunday I made just 6 of them, and they were gone within 20 min between my boyfriend and me. They're great for brunch, as a snack in the afternoon, and of course also for breakfast :-D

Recipe for 12 chocolate chip chocolate muffins

200 g dark chocolate (baking)
120 g butter
4 dl flour
1.2 dl brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1.8 dl buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
150 g chopped dark chocolate (or chips)

Melt chocolate (baking) and butter together in a saucepan or bain-marie.
In a bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, mix. Add melted chocolate + butter, mix until incorporated.
Finally add your chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate (I keep a few out for the topping).
Divide the dough into 12 muffin tins, add some chocolate chips on top if you want.
Bake 20 min at 175 C. Enjoy warm or cold!

Carac (Swiss chocolate ganache tart)

Last week I cooked a typical Vaudois lunch for some of my colleagues: saucisse aux choux (pork and cabbage sausage), papet vaudois (a mix of leeks and potatoes cooked in the fat of the sausages), and as dessert "carac".

Carac is a Vaudois (form canton de Vaud in Switzerland) pastry composed of a shortcrust pie filled with a rich chocolate ganache (mix of chocolate and cream) and covered with a green sugar icing. The chocolate ganache melts in your mouth while you crunch on the pie crust and get some sweetness from the icing. You can easily change the color of the icing but green to yellow-green is the standard color for this dessert.

Recipe for 2 medium Caracs (about 21 cm in diameter)

Shortcrust dough
250 g flour
80 g sugar
2 pinches of salt
125 g butter
1 egg, mixed
2-3 tbsp milk

Chocolate ganache
400 g dark chocolate (70%)
5 dl cream (35%, liquid)

Icing
250 g powder sugar
2-3 drops food coloring (green or blue+yellow)
2-3 tbsp water

First prepare the dough. In a bowl mix flour, sugar, salt. Add butter, mix by hand making crumbs. Add egg and milk, mix fast into a dough. Make a disc, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 30 min.
Roll out the dough (about 4 mm thick) onto buttered + floured pie forms. Prick the dough with a fork. Bake 15 min at 200 C.

Chop up the chocolate and transfer to a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Mix with a spoon until all chocolate is melted. Here you should have a nice and shiny mix (ganache). Let it cool down for about 10-15 min then transfer the ganache onto the tarts). Refrigerate for about 1 hr until the chocolate ganache has set.

Mix powder sugar, water and coloring in a bowl until obtaining a green (should be a green like grass not a dark one) thick mix. Don't add too much water else the icing will have a hard time setting). Cover the chocolate tarts with the green icing and let dry for about 1hr.

Add a disc of melted dark chocolate in the center of each tart: you could either melt 25 g chocolate alone, or add 1 tbsp powder sugar and a few drops water. You can also just put an already made disc of chocolate or a bean of coffee.