In 2015, our Viking Grand European River Cruise, departed from Amsterdam for a 14 day tour, ending in Budapest. We arrived a few days early to explore and enjoy Amsterdam before the cruise. Neither of us had been there before, so we stayed in the Pulitzer Hotels, right on one of the canals, and walked all around the city. My favorite memories are the patisserie window displays, the Bloemenmarkt, the thousands of bikes, the private canal cruise, and beautiful homes lining the canals. Ok, I have to say the Red Light District too because there’s just nothing like that in the states, and what an experience. I loved the city; now one of my favorites.
One morning we walked to a cafe in the 9 Streets neighborhood for the infamous Danish pancake, also known as pannekoeken. The alleyways are picturesque and after 400 years, it is still very lively with artisanal businesses, hidden cafes, hotspot restaurants and galleries, and specialized and authentic shops. The cafe menu only had pancakes and drinks. The pancakes are a little thicker than crepes, and rather large. For someone who’s not a huge pancake connoisseur, these were delicious and fun.
So for breakfast this morning, I surprised mom with the apple and cinnamon pancakes. After a month of living in Haverford, and her making my meals, I’m finally able to wait on mom. She deserved it. For the recipe, I combined two recipes Food Network for the apple-sugar syrup, and Our Sweet Adventures for the batter recipe. It didn’t take long to create. I cooked the apples first then added brown sugar and butter to make the syrup. When the batter was ready, I poured one-third of it into the pan, then added the apples (without the syrup). After cooking 3-5 min, I flipped this giant pancake over without too much damage. Woo hoo. Once it’s complete, pour the syrup over it, and sprinkle powdered sugar on top. But I forgot about the sugar. Mom was definitely surprised, wondering what I was making. They were very filling, and huge.
Would I make this again? Yes. Next time I’d make smaller pancakes, and have a stack of them. They were thicker than I expected. But very tasty. For more than two people I’d double the Apple Brown Sugar portion to ensure everyone gets the right amount of syrup and apples.
Traveljunkies 