Traditional South African Pancakes
Pannenkoeken with Cinnamon and Sugar
In South Africa, every market should have a pannekoek stand. Traditionally served rolled up with cinnamon and sugar, we often make this recipe at home and add many more toppings on the table to choose from, as they are delicious with Nutella or another nut butter, banana slices, strawberry jam or golden syrup.
Ingredients to make South African pancakes
4 eggs
1 table spoon castor sugar
4 cups of water
1 cup of oil
1 tbsp vinegar
4 cups flour
½ t salt
3 ½ tsp baking powder
How to make South African pancakes
Beat the eggs and sugar together using a mixer.
Add water and vinegar and continue to mix.
Sieve the flour over the mixture, then gently mix in.
Add the oil and beat to a creamy mix.
Set the batter aside for one hour. Allowing the batter to stand lets the starch expand and makes for lighter pancakes.
Add the baking powder and fold in, before making the pancakes.
I usually have two or three pans going on the stove, adding a little bit of oil to each and only adding the batter when the pans are hot.
The first pancake is usually the worst one, so don’t worry if they don’t look good at first!
Flip the pancake ones using a spatula once the bottom is golden brown.
Allow the other side to turn into a golden brown colour too, and serve warm straight away, or make a larger batch and keep them warm in the oven until you’ve finished the batter.
Pancake Accompaniments
Because we were on holiday, and we didn’t bring any traditional pancake toppings like cinnamon/sugar, golden syrup or strawberry jam, we fried up some bananas and glazed some cherries for a super delicious alternative!
For more ideas on what to serve with your pancakes, see below.
More Pancake and Flapjack Recipes
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For a healthier version of these pancakes, try this Banana, Oats and Egg Pancake recipe. If it’s flapjacks you’re looking for, I have given away my secret to the fluffiest flapjacks. But again, there is a healthy verison of that too: These Pink Lady Apple Donut Flapjacks are a delicious option.
And if you are looking for the perfect accompaniment to pancakes or flapjacks is not enough, I can strongly recommend making a Berry Compote and/or a Pecan Nut Brittle!
About Shawn Godfrey
Photo credit: Niki M Photography
Shawn Godfrey is an entrepreneur based in Cape Town, South Africa. After the Covid-19 lockdown saw his business in financial distress, cooking was the creative outlet that helped to keep him sane. To keep track of his recipes, and encourage friends and families to join him, he starts his instagram account The Roasted Dad.
Fast-forward to late 2021 - on a whim Shawn (encouraged by his wife Lianne) enters MasterChef South Africa. It is a crazy time of life: running a 200 people business and struggling to keep it profitable, two small children with a third on the way, and about to move into a new house. But when Shawn gets selected to be one of the 20 contestants participating in the fourth season of MasterChef South Africa, he decides to go all in. Leaving his 7-month-pregnant wife to look after their then three and one-year-old children, he battles it out and comes back home five weeks later with the trophy and a million rand prize money in his pocket.
It all started with an Instagram account, but The Roasted Dad is so much more now. Shawn has stayed his entrepreneurial self and whilst he hosts Private Dinner Parties and Cook-with-Me Demos, does Restaurant Take-Overs, he still runs the lighting company and several other businesses.
On his blog, Shawn shares Restaurant Reviews and Accommodation Reviews, and gives an insight into the wild and wonderful life he leads together with his wife Lianne, and their three children Aiden (6), Olivia (4) and Harvey (2).
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