This is where my GF journey really began, and where it almost ended. The infamous “Fog Cutter Cakes” were my very first “nope, don’t eat that” moment, and I realized I needed to rethink everything. I began working this recipe with different flours, reading from different GF experts, and using different methods until I landed on the combination of what I found to be the best GF pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
These mix, pour, and cook like regular pancakes, so there isn’t really any special learning curve here. Use the tools and knowledge you already possess for making pancakes, whether it’s on a griddle or stovetop, you will find these to be pretty similar.
This recipe, like most, does blend the dry ingredients separately from the wet ingredients, then mixes everything together to form a pourable batter. Nothing too complex—except this recipe calls for the use of melted butter rather than an oil. If you mix all the wet ingredients together, the moment you pour melted butter into cold milk, you are going to solidify the butter. You will then wonder why you melted the butter in the first place. I approach this dilemma like making a hollandaise sauce, by starting with the egg, whisking it, then slowly adding the melted butter a few drips at a time. Egg will absorb fat from the butter if you allow it time (thank you, Julia Child). Whisk in the butter until it is a uniform egg mixture, then you can add the milk & vanilla without chunks of solidified butter.
Notes about my ingredients
Butter
Whenever I use butter, I use European style butter. It’s yellow—not white, it comes in a block, and it looks like a hunk of mild cheddar cheese. It also contains a higher percentage of milkfat compared to American style butter, and contains less moisture. It’s more expensive than American style butter, but it’s a small price to pay in my opinion for better tasting baked goods. Costco is a life saver for this stuff.
Vanilla
Do yourself a favor, and use a quality, all-natural, real vanilla if you can. I find this stuff never disappoints regardless of the recipe. Imitation vanilla is just weird to me, even if the online rumors on how it’s made aren’t true, I just really don’t like it. Again, Costco is a life saver for this stuff.
Baking Powder
Get yourself a good, aluminum-free double-acting baking powder. Without debating the semantics of whether sodium aluminum phosphate is dangerous, or how much it would take to cause harm, etc., let’s just say I use the stuff from Bob’s Red Mill—it uses sodium acid phosphate, is certified GF, and just works really well.
