Preparation

1. 1. Liberally brush three to four 3-inch
2. ring molds (2 inches in height) with
3. the softened butter. If you do not have
4. ring molds, then you can make 3-inch
5. rings either out of parchment (preferred
6. material) or aluminum foil – make 10
7. of these molds because they are not
8. reusable. If using the foil, you will need to
9. butter them. To keep the ring shape, use
10. some extra foil to secure the loose edges,
11. or you can staple the parchment together.
12. Reserve these until ready to fill.
13. 2. Put the flour, baking powder, ¼ teaspoon
14. of the salt, and the nutmeg into a large
15. mixing bowl. Using the beaters, mix on
16. Speed 1 to fully combine, at least 30
17. seconds; reserve.
18. 3. Put the buttermilk, melted butter, egg
19. yolks, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and
20. vanilla extract into a medium mixing bowl.
21. Using the beaters, mix on Speeds 1 to 5
22. until homogenous; reserve.
23. 4. Put the 4 egg whites into a spotlessly
24. clean, medium mixing bowl. Add the
25. remaining salt and cream of tartar.
26. Using the whisk, start mixing on Speed
27. 1 and gradually increase to Speed 4.
28. Once the whites begin to get foamy
29. and start to thicken, very gradually add
30. the remaining sugar. Continue to whip,
31. gradually increasing to Speed 7, until the
32. whites are stiff and glossy, this will take
33. a few minutes. Be sure not to over-whip
34. the egg whites/meringue or it will not be
35. as stable.
36. 5. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the
37. dry mixture and, using the beaters, mix
38. on Speed 2 until smooth. Add a small
39. amount of the meringue into the flour/
40. yolk mixture and stir to combine, then
41. gently fold the remaining meringue, in two
42. batches, into the mixture, making sure to
43. not over-mix.
44. 6. Heat a large skillet, preferably nonstick,
45. over low heat. Brush the bottom of the
46. skillet with the butter. Place the ring
47. molds (metal/parchment/foil) in the warm
48. pan and pour batter into the molds so
49. that each is about ¾ full (this is about
50. ½ cup). Place a lid on top of the skillet
51. and cook pancakes for about 6 minutes
52. (pancakes will puff up to the top of the
53. molds and will create dry bubbles on top).
54. 7. Remove lid, carefully slide a spatula
55. underneath each pancake, holding the
56. ring mold with an oven mitt/potholder/
57. towel. Carefully flip pancakes (including
58. the molds). Cover again and cook an
59. additional minute or two.
60. 8. Transfer cooked pancakes to a platter,
61. grease the skillet again and, if using metal
62. ones, grease ring molds again, and repeat
63. to make additional pancakes.
64. 9. Serve pancakes as you would traditional
65. pancakes, with warm maple syrup,
66. fresh fruit, or just a little dusting of
67. confectioners’ sugar