Whether as part of a religious celebration, a family tradition or simply a love for the food, pancakes are a firm favourite that spans many countries, age groups and cultural traditions. From the French crêpe that is paper-thin and somewhat crispy, to the thicker pancakes prepared with a raising agent in other countries, pancakes are enjoyed in a variety of ways. In South Africa, we generally prepare them like the French, and heap them with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice, or syrup.
As a way to show their appreciation for Pancake Day (and the Christian tradition of Shrove Tuesday) on 1 March 2022, dynamic Twin chefs, foodies and Laager Rooibos ambassadors, Lebo and Tebo Ndala from @withlovefromthetwins, have shared three of their pancake recipes with a twist.
“Pancakes are the perfect food to bring family and friends together, and they are one of our absolute favourite foods!” said Tebo. “We love experimenting with different flavours in our recipes while bringing in the distinctive local flavour and aroma of Laager Rooibos,” Lebo added. “To inspire the South African public to try new things, we’re introducing them to a savoury pancake option with a distinctive South African flavour, alongside two delicious and different sweet pancake recipes.”
Recipe 1: Savour crêpes with a Laager Rooibos Bobotie filling
Ingredients:
Pancake batter
· 2 eggs
· 1 ½ cups of milk
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 Tbsp sugar
· 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Bobotie ingredients
· 1 onion, finely chopped
· 15ml curry powder
· 2ml cumin
· 3ml turmeric
· 500g beef mince
· 40ml chutney
· 40ml raisins
· 250ml strongly brewed Laager Rooibos tea
Method:
Pancake batter
· Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl until batter is thin and smooth.
· Pour ¼ cup of batter into a buttered pan and swirl around until crêpe is thin.
· Cook for 1-2 minutes per side. Repeat until the mixture is finished.
Bobotie filling
· Heat oil in a saucepan. Sauté onions until translucent.
· Add curry powder, cumin and turmeric. Fry for 1 minute.
· Add the mince and cook until browned.
· Add the chutney, raisins and tea. Cook for around 10-15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
· Adjust seasoning. Cool slightly, and fill the crêpes with Bobotie mixture.
· Serve with extra chutney if desired.
Recipe 2: Laager Rooibos Pancake Cake
Ingredients:
Pancake batter
· 3 eggs
· 8 Laager Rooibos teabags
· 4 cups milk
· 4 Tbsp oil
· 1 Tbsp vanilla essence
· 3 cups cake flour
· ½ tsp baking powder
· Pink food colouring for 1/2 the batter
Icing ingredients
· 3 tubs cream cheese
· 6 Tbsp strawberry yogurt
· ½ cup icing sugar
Topping
· Strawberries for garnish
· Dusting of icing sugar
Method:
Pancake batter
· In a saucepan, warm up the milk and Laager Rooibos teabags until infused. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and then cool completely.
· In a large bowl, combine the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla essence.
· Sift the flour and baking powder into the wet mixture. Blend together until smooth using a hand mixer.
· Divide batter into two bowls. Colour the one bowl of batter with a few drops of pink colouring and mix until combined.
· Use a non-stick pan to make pancakes. Heat a bit of oil or use cooking spray for the pan, then fry the pancakes.
Icing
· Blend all the icing ingredients together until smooth. Spread icing over each pancake and then stack the pancakes one on top of the other, alternating colours – pink and white.
· Ice the top of the pancake cake and garnish with fresh strawberries and a dusting of icing sugar.
· Slice and serve.
Recipe 3: Gluten-free Pancakes with Strawberry and Laager Rooibos Topping
Ingredients:
Pancake batter
· 2 bananas
· 2 eggs
· ½ cup almond flour
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 2 Tbsp sugar
· 1 cup milk
· Butter (for shallow frying)
Topping ingredients
· ½ cup of strong brewed Laager Rooibos Tea (we suggest the Original Laager Pure Rooibos or the Laager Cranberry & Wild Cherry Rooibos)
· ½ cup fresh strawberries
· ½ cup brown sugar
Method:
Pancake batter
· Mix all the pancake ingredients together to form a smooth batter.
· In a medium non-stick frying pan, melt the butter and pour in ¼ cup batter to make 1 pancake. Swirl the batter around to cover the entire pan. Cook until the sides form little bubbles.
· Turn over and cook the other side. Repeat until all the batter is used up.
Topping
· Add the Laager Rooibos, strawberries and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
· Cook until the liquid has reduced to half and until the strawberries are very soft.
· Serve the pancakes with warm syrup or wait for it to cool.
We want to hear more about your favourite pancake recipes! Head over to the Laager Rooibos Facebook page and share yours, for a chance to win a great Laager Rooibos pancake making hamper! For more Laager Rooibos inspired recipes, follow @withlovefromthetwins and @LaagerRooibos on Facebook or check out the ‘Spill the Tea’ section in the @withlovefromthetwins cook book, Food Stories.
