Buttermilk Pancakes Soaked in Grand Marnier Orange and Cardamom Maple Syrup

Buttermilk Pancakes Soaked in Grand Marnier Orange and Cardamom Maple Syrup

The best part of a stack of pancakes is the part that is totally soaked through with syrup and butter. In this recipe, we just cut to the chase and soak each layer completely in a syrup and butter sauce. It’s really tasty, and surprisingly, it doesn’t seem too heavy (partly because of the smaller pancakes).

Ingredients

Directions

Syrup

Start by heating your green cardamom pods and star anise in a sautée pan to bring out the flavor. Next, add a few splashes of Grand Marnier, along with peeled ginger, and let it reduce briefly.

When that’s done, add your maple syrup, orange juice, cayenne pepper, orange zest, and mint, and let it thicken slightly.

Finally reduce the heat and whisk in a couple of tablespoons of butter, and salt to taste (this may not be needed if you’re using salted butter).

Buttermilk Pancakes

Start by mixing your dry ingredients together, then add your wet ingredients to make a batter. You can reduce the amount of buttermilk used if you like, but adding two cups makes a thinner and lighter pancake so that you can stack many layers (like a mille crepe) without it seeming too dense.

When the batter is ready, cook your pancakes in a pan (or on a griddle) in a bit of butter. When all of the pancakes are finished, use a ring mold to cut out even shapes.

Plating

Strain your syrup into a bowl (but reserve the orange zest), then soak one of your pancakes thoroughly in the bowl. Place this on your plate, then repeat the process for as many layers as you would like. With this batter recipe, you should be able to stack 8-10 pancakes (they’re fairly small) without a problem.

When you’ve finished stacking your pancakes, garnish with orange supremes, orange zest, mint, and a bit of butter.