How To Pancake Brunch For Toddlers and Infants
Is it a sheet pan pancake? Is it a clafoutis, an eggy French fruit tart? Yes. And yes. But perhaps most crucially, it may be the single best way–at least culinarily–to make weekend breakfast with a young child feel relaxed and even indulgent. This sorta pancake is sweet and hearty, with the sort of texture and mild sweetness that comes easy for toddlers. It’s easy and endlessly adaptable: it does not require anything like the time or technique of a pastry or cake; substitutions or changes are easy. Want to use a different berry (or many berries)? Go right ahead! Only have agave or honey and not maple syrup? Make the substitution and keep the ratios! Want more butter (or flour or eggs)? Go ahead! Unlike your own sometimes, this guy is forgiving.
Ingredients
Instructions
Prep
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If using pieces of fruit bigger than your child can comfortable chew and swallow, chop into smaller pieces.
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Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8x11 pan or baking dish–you can use a pie pan, too–with cooking spray. Sprinkle about a third of your fruit pieces around your pan.
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In a large bowl, mix all the wet ingredients–eggs, almond milk, yogurt/cream/cheese selection, a generous drizzle of maple syrup, and melted butter first.
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Grate the zest of half the lemon over the batter, then pour in the ginger and a sprinkle in a pinch of salt; mix together.
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Mix in flour and baking powder until integrated with wet ingredients. We’re looking for a batter similar in consistency to pancake batter, so if it appears watery or loose add in small amounts of additional flour until it is thicker but still pliable.
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Pour batter into pan/dish. Scatter the rest of the fruit all around the dish, ensuring fruit is spread throughout.
Cook
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Place on the middle rack in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. The clafoutis will have risen and have a golden brown color but may look unfinished, so do a quick smell test: stick a knife into the center of the pan: if any batter or moisture is evident on the knife, it will need a bit more time cooking.
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Remove from heat and allow to cool in the pan for ten minutes. When ready, use a knife or small spatula to remove clafoutis from the tray.
Serve
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If you used a tarter or tangier berry (i.e., raspberries), you’ll need a tiny spritz of lemon and a little added sweetness (powder sugar, maple syrup); if using a sweeter berry (i.e., strawberries), be more generous with your lemon squeeze. Because the dish has a spongy and eggy texture, your kiddo can easily bite into it and it won’t crumble on him/her: feel free to serve your pieces whole or merely halved. (See photo.)
Adapt
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Stone fruit–apricots, plums, anything with a center–work really well, too; other than to cut the fruit up into smaller pieces, the recipe doesn’t change. Want to make this more like a pancake? Couple of key changes: set your oven to 425, and mix together two cups of pancake mix with two eggs and a cup of milk; cook for about 16-18 minutes.
