Milk tart pancakes

This is a heavenly combination of two of South Africa’s most love desserts.
Milk tart + pancakes = Milk tart pancakes. Yummy!!!

Before we start, may I just say that Pancakes in South Africa is nothing like the ones that you will find in America. We also call them “Pannekoek” in Afrikaans. (Pronounced: “Pan-ha-cook”) and it literally means cake from a pan. They actually resemble a crepe.
Here in South Africa these thin crepes are traditionally filled with cinnamon sugar. If you are looking for a great recipe, give this one a try: Pancakes These are the classic cinnamon sugar pancakes. You will not be disappointed.

I always associate rainy weather with pancakes. I just remember my mom always whipping up a batch of cinnamon pancakes whenever it would rain. To today I still love baking them when it rains. And funny enough as soon as it looks like rain you will find them being baked by the local grocery’s stores too. Think my mom influenced the whole neighborhood! 😊

This recipe is very similar. The only difference is that they are filled with a custardy silky milk tart filling and then topped off with golden crunchy cinnamon crumbles. And if you have a sweet tooth like me why not add a dash of cinnamon sugar over the top. These pancakes are simply delicious!

A little tip (Probably from baking so many pancakes in my life 😊) Make your own cinnamon sugar by mixing 250ml white sugar with 5 ml ground Cinnamon. Feel free to add in an extra 5ml of Cinnamon if you prefer a stronger cinnamon taste.

Hope you enjoy this recipe, like we do.

Makes around 12 Pancakes

Ingredients

Pancakes:

250ml Cake flour
1ml Salt
2ml Baking powder
250 ml Milk (Check amount)
2 eggs
15ml Oil, sunflower

Milk tart Filling:

500ml milk
1 Cinnamon stick
80ml Cake Flour
5ml Ground Cinnamon
5ml Vanilla essence

Cinnamon Crumbles:

250ml Cake Flour
10ml Ground Cinnamon
60ml Sugar, white
100g Butter, Cut into blocks

Topping:
Cinnamon sugar for Sprinkling.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180˚C and grease a large baking tray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Start by making the crumbles

Combining the flour, cinnamon and sugar and rub in the butter to form large crumbs.
Spread on the prepared baking tray and bake, stirring every now and then.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy.

Next make the filling

Heat half the milk with the cinnamon stick until just below boiling point then set it aside to infuse. Whisk the remaining cold milk with the flour and ground cinnamon to form a smooth paste then whisk into the hot milk.

Cook on medium heat until thick, make sure to stir continuously. Once the mixture has thickened remove the cinnamon stick and add in the vanilla essence.

Set the filling aside. Cover the surface with clingwrap. This will prevent a skin forming.

Make the pancakes

Sift together the Cake flour, salt and baking powder.
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together. While mixing on a slow speed add the flour mixture little by little until all the flour is incorporated. Make sure to beat well after each addition to avoid clumps forming.
(The mixture should be runny. If it’s to thick feel free to add more milk.)

Now heat a non-stick pan.
Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray and ladle a small amount of batter into the pan. Swirl the pan around to evenly coat it with batter.
When the edges begin to lift, flip it over and cook the other side until brown. Repeat the above step until all the batter is used up. Place the cooked pancakes on a dinner plate as you go and cover with foil to keep them warm.

Assembling the milk tart pancakes

Spread a thin layer of filling onto each pancake. And fold the pancake into half.
Sprinkle a thin layer of cinnamon sugar and a few cinnamon crumbles over the folded pancake.

Serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!