Classic crepes get added pizzazz as pancakes with fudge sauce and chopped hazelnuts. This post was originally commissioned by Morrison’s Supermarket as part of a series of pancake recipes.
Serving Pancakes with Fudge Sauce for Mardi Gras
It’s the beginning of Lent and you’ll want to make pancakes. But instead of boring lemon and sugar options, it’s not much more effort to make this fabulous glossy fudge sauce. It will really ramp up your pancake repertoire!
February is here and I am secretly cursing that Valentines is not after Shrove Tuesday this year because we are brimming over with Mardi Gras madness here at Maison Cupcake but have not yet done an iota of preparation towards Valentines.
But why is this so inconvenient you cry? The reason is that supermarket chain Morrisons were hosting a food bloggers seasonal pancake challenge recently asked me if I would dream up some seasonal inspiration for their website readers for a pancake special. It’s the middle of January! I’m on a diet! Of course I’ll do it!
The challenge was to create pancake recipes using the following ingredients:
Clementine
Hazelnuts
Rhubarb
Pink Grapefruit
Today I bring you the first recipe; Pancakes with Fudge Sauce and Chopped Hazelnuts.
I love maple syrup on pancakes and was delighted to discover some Maple Fudge amongst Morrisons’ own brand products. It gave me the idea to make pancakes with fudge sauce.
First a reminder of your basic crepe style pancake recipe….
Basic Crepe Style Pancake Recipe
Equipment
- frying pan non stick
Ingredients
- 100 g plain flour
- salt a pinch
- 1 large egg
- 250 ml semi skimmed milk
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. I sift mine directly onto the bowl on scales to save on washing up.
- Pour the milk into a hand blender beaker. Beat in the egg. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, pour this into the milk and egg mixture and stir quickly to stop butter solidifying in the cold milk. Scrape in your flour and salt and beat in with a fork.
- Make the batter smoother by giving it a quick whisk with the hand blender. Decant the mixture into a plastic jug for ease of pouring onto your frying pan.
- Melt a small knob of butter onto a non-stick frying pan over a moderate to high heat. Use a silicon brush to wipe the butter all over the surface of the pan. When the pan is hot and covered in the melted butter, pour over some batter, around the same amount equivalent to the diameter of a grapefruit. Quickly swirl the batter towards the edge of the pan to make your pancake wider and thinner.
- Allow to cook for 30-45 seconds. Ease a silicon spatula under the edge of the pancake and gradually as the pancake cooks, ease the spatula all the way underneath to check it is loose enough to turn over.
- It should take 60-90 seconds before you can flip the pancake over. Toss if you wish but I find I can flip it easily with the spatula if it isn’t too thin. Allow to cook on the other side for around 60 seconds. You can peep underneath to see how brown it is, aim for a speckled effect akin to leopard’s spots.
- Crepe style pancakes are best served immediately although you can keep them in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheat in the microwave.
Skinning the hazelnuts
To add some crunch to the pancakes with fudge sauce, chopped nuts are just the ticket. Hazelnut skins can taste quite bitter so you will do best to remove them. Skinning your hazelnuts takes around 10-15 minutes but is well worth the effort. Warm them in an oven at 180c for around ten minutes.
If you wrap handfuls (mind! they’re hot!) in kitchen paper, this has a steaming effect that loosens the skins. Roll your wrapped up nut bundle on the countertop for a moment. Unfold the kitchen paper and you’ll see the skins have mostly broken in to fragments that can be shaken off (perhaps using a colander).
You may need to scratch off any big pieces of skin remaining, using a pointy little knife. I promise this stage makes a lot of difference to the taste.
Alternatively you might buy already skinned hazelnuts, but the skin-on ones taste better, even with skins removed. I know that might sound daft but it’s true.
Making Hot Fudge Sauce for Pancakes
Making the Maple Fudge sauce couldn’t be easier. Chop your fudge chunks into smaller pieces. Warm the cream in a small saucepan on a low heat. Pop the fudge chunks into the cream and stir gently for 5-10 minutes and you’ll see they dissolve. You’ll be left with this smooth caramel-ly hot fudge sauce. It will go firm again when it cools but not as hard as the original fudge.
Pancakes topped with Hot Maple Fudge Sauce and Hazelnuts
Equipment
- 1 frying pan
Ingredients
- 50 g hazelnuts skinned
- 120 ml double cream
- 100 g fudge (I used Morrisons “The Best” Maple Fudge)
- 8 pancakes made already or shop bought (if you must)
Instructions
- (Make your pancakes if you haven't already. )
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 or 180c. Lay the hazelnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. When the oven is up to temperature, toast the nuts in the oven for around 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile heat your double cream on a medium heat in a small saucepan. Chop up your chunks of fudge and tip them into the warm cream. Stirring with a wooden spoon until molten, bring the cream almost to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for around 10 minutes.
- Remove your hazelnuts from the oven. Tip them onto some sheets of kitchen paper and wrap into a little bundle inside which the shells will steam off. Leave for 2-3 minutes and then open up the bundle. Rub the nuts with the kitchen paper to loosen the shells. You may need to scratch the nuts gently to remove some of the shell. When the shells are mostly removed, chop the nuts coarsely. This will take a few minutes but worth the effort.
- Make your pancakes if you haven’t already done so. Fold 2-3 pancakes per person in half on a plate overlapping them slightly. Pour over some hot maple fudge sauce and sprinkle over some chopped hazelnuts. Serve immediately.
Notes
More pancake ideas using seasonal winter ingredients
If you’ve liked the look of these pancakes with fudge sauce, see what I made with my other nominated winter ingredients…
The clementine, pink grapefruit and rhubarb were used to make:
- Chocolate Crepes Suzette – a spectacular French flambé dessert
- Scotch pancake stack with ice cream, pink grapefruit and whisky
- Spicy Pork Pancakes With Rhubarb.
And for further inspiration, also using winter seasonal ingredients, Cooksister’s contribution to the pancake challenge was Swede, chorizo and thyme savoury pancakes.
Argh, Sarah! I was reluctant to read this, because crepes are my downfall, regards diet-breaking. My resolve not to get drawn in to pancake season lasted until I reached the photos of the fudge sauce 😀 I am getting myself to Morrisons to find that maple fudge!
My favourite crepe filling, hands down, is fried bananas & dulce de leche. I spent last summer on a volunteer programme at a national park in Costa Rica. The park's staff spoke no English and at the time I arrived, I had limited Spanish. One of the ways I found to build rapport was by baking for them! Along with lemon drizzle cake, the park rangers went crazy for crepes and in particular, loved the combination of ripe, fried plantain and warmed dulce de leche. So eating this will always bring back great memories of that summer for me.
I love crepes. I usually eat mine with nutella or cream de marrons (chestnut jam). 🙂
Yummy…….not eligble. Looks lovely and your photos are great!……. Well done, dear!!!
Oh my I am swooning over the maple fudge and then the rhubarb ones! great creations!!!! I adore crepes!
Mmmmm the fudge one looks scrummy.
Please enter me onto the draw.
I'm a traditional lemon juice and sugar pancake girl I'm afraid!
Now all becomes clear about your pantry full of crepes! Congratulations that is absolutely wonderful news! The crepes look delicious and I could certainly do with a sweet one right this minute 😉
My favourite crepe filling is dulce de leche topped with freshly whipped cream (with a shot of Baileys whipped in on special occasions) and sliced bananas
Morwenna xoxo
I love fresh fruit. Blueberries, strawberries and peaches are my favorite.
Wonderful looking pancakes. They look delicious.
By the way, just joined daring bakers yesterday. I'm looking forward to seeing what the first challenge is going to be (and nervous for some reason lol)
*kisses* HH
Bonjour Sarah,
Congratulations, you've come up with the best crepe recipes, the Maple Fudge sounds so good.
What a great giveaway, too bad I'm not in the UK – close but not quite!
Happy baking Sarah!
I'm a sweet pancake girl, so those maple fudge pancakes really appeal to me! Looks like it would be a fabulous dessert!
Both ideas look fabulous. I like mine both savoury and sweet. So that's why you were talking about Morrison's the other day.
I'd have to say a quite boring one I'm afraid – Nutella and plain old banana. Floats my boat every time.
Awww very sneaky putting in the maple fudge sauce, now my resolve truly went.
The pork and rhubabrb looks really moreish and I just have to try it.
I wouldnt turn any pancake down I cant hink of one I haven't met and loved.
I went to the Dutch pancake house a few years ago, its a pancake lovers Nirvana. I now regularly eat savoury pancakes and a favourite is chorizo, salami red chillies and tomato, I have to have sour cream with this.
If sweet it is an orange and cranberry mix I stew with sugar and vanilla with vanilla icecream.
Oh I am so hungry now.
They look so good! My old favourite has to be lemon and sugar
Holy macaron! Please excuse me whilst I wipe the drool from my mouth. And here I am with a salad for lunch when all I want is a plate of those crepes. Beautiful variations Sarah! 😀
WOW! Sarah, visiting your blog first thing in the morning is not a good idea cos your mouthwatering pancakes made me feel so hungry and i haven't had breakfast yet! Now i want to eat pancakes!..but i'm at work now so no hope of having pancakes or anything close for breakfast except some plain bread or crackers..:(
You have lost ten pounds? Wow! Fantastic and congratulations! But how can you resist not eating all of these crepes? Both the savory and the sweet are fabulous!
I love your crepes, and the sauce is fantastic!
There is an award for you in my blog.
Have a great day,
Oh man, I'm drooling now. I LOVE pancakes, and crepes. That maple sauce looks to die for!!
These are THE most gorgeoous pictures I have ever seen from you! Wow. The pancakes look scrumptious!
That fudge sauce is a winner for sure! I can think of some other foods to use it for too. Great pancakes Sarah!
PS. Don't enter me for the giveaway, just wanted to comment.
Lovely post Sarah! My favourite filling would have to be ricotta and banana, ever since I tried Bill Granger's hotcakes (did you see my post on that?). Once you try them – you'll fall in love =)
Pancakes??? Oh….that's another of my favourite….whether thick or thin 😀 If I go for sweet one…it has to be condensed milk…yum. If I go for savoury, it will be eggs and spring onions cooked as filling….simple and delicious.
Those savoury pork pancakes look amazing! Great job there.
I am being a bit pedantic but for me pancakes don't have fillings. Pancakes are big fluffy things that you pour maple syrup onto and sometimes serve with bananas.
CREPES have fillings 🙂 And my favourite crepe filling is Nutella.
i love crepes and wish i had seen this post earlier, since today is la chandeleur – but we have just cleaned off the crepe pan ! i LOVE rhubarb, and even though i go for sweet 99.999999% of the time, i've got your savory pancakes above on my radar. so creative. and wow, that color, just brilliant !
fantastic giveaway. and i can play ! 🙂 my sister-in-law lives in london and i'll be heading there this spring. she could practice flipping some crepes until i get there. ha ha !
oh wait, before i forget, my favorite filling is not crazy and exciting – but to me, it's the very best. lots of good salted butter and lots of sugar. a real crisp crepe – eaten standing up, at the crepe pan, while it's h-h-hot ! 🙂
Maple syrup and bacon is the ultimate in sweet-savoury heaven. We use to eat "pigs in a blanket" as kids. That's pancakes rolled up with syrup and sausages.
@57varieties Arrr dulce de leche… my downfall, sssshhh! don't mention it!!!
@cookingninja I've not had chestnut jam, it sounds nice
@kitchenbutterfly Thanks!
@jennifer The fudge seems to be the winner!
@bigredhearts @abby Bookham Sometimes the old ones are the best
@morwenna Baileys! Yummy!
@maria Fresh fruit is wonderful idea, never tried that with crepes
@HH Great! You signed up for DB!
@Bonjour Romance and @BarbaraBakes Glad you like them!
@deerbaby Yep, this was why I went to Morrisons!
@Jo My Old Dutch – I used to work near there
@faithy @NQN Sorry to be corrupting everyone!! I like "Holy Macaron" as an expletive!
@jamie It was tough. I only ate the rhubarb one for dinner and 2 plain ones when I made next batch in the morning.
@mamatkamal Thanks for the award! I have a few to dish out myself
@tracy The maple fudge was wonderful. As sauce it was divine
@tspegar Glad you like the pics!
@mowie Not sure I remember that one but I will check out
@Mary Moh Egg and spring onions sounds very very nice
@hilary Yes I suppose you are right though people in UK don't really call a crepe a crepe!
@kerrin The rhubarb dish was kind of sweet and savoury at same time – hard to describe.
@eggscreambacon Pigs in blankets! Not heard that for a while!
Nothing better than copious amounts of butter and lashings of maple syrup with a side of smokey crispy bacon.
Lovely…look at the pancakes. DROOLICIOUS my dear, FAB! I saw a post at Nics earlier on and she mentioned Morrisons too! Woot, at least I can say I know 3 of the 4 UK pancake bloggers!
Oooooh give-away! Right me too plesae. Jus in case I get lucky, I shall pay for my postage. Does that seem OK?
xoxo
I love pancakes. Man, I could have used those scales, too.
OMG, no chance of a diet with THAT lying around, is there!! I wish I had been given more sweet ingredients – mine were all savoury, bar the hazelnuts… and I'm afraid I've been rather tardy with posting what with my holiday slap bang in the middle of the week that this al went live. But my first recipe is now UP, as well as a chance for yet more people to win pancake kit suspiciously similar to yours (my kitchen is WAY too full already!!)
Yes, anything pancake like , suits me. These were delicious.