Strawberry Puff Pancake

The following is a recipe that my mom adapted from a magazine about thirty years ago. This is, hands down, my all-time favorite breakfast, and has been since I was a kid. The pancake itself is airy yet custardy, and the brown sugar, when it seeps through the sour cream and crystallizes onto the pancake’s surface, gives a deeper, second layer of sweetness. The fresh strawberries provide a cooling kick as well as a third layer of sweetness, both juicy and refreshingly tart.

This is the kind of breakfast that, if I’m first at the table (which is always) and others don’t join me quickly enough, there’s a real danger that it’ll be gone before anyone else can get a bite. It’s that good; the photos don’t do it justice.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons (or a little less) of margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of cardamom (optional)
About 3 cups of fresh strawberries, halved (fresh peaches can also be used)
Light sour cream for serving
Brown sugar for serving

Directions

1. Put margarine in a 9-inch ovenproof pan and place the pan in a 425-degree oven for 10 minutes.

2. Beat together the eggs, milk, 6 tablespoons of sugar, flour, cardamom, and salt.

3. Take pan from oven just long enough to pour in the mixture from step two all at once. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until the edges are puffed and browned and the center isn’t runny.