So, given my inability to cook foods that require flipping, you’ll have to disregard the ragged appearance of these pancakes and trust me when I tell you they are phenomenally good. Fluffy and fruity and full of flavor and the type of carb-y comfort food goodness you want on a winter morning.

(I know, I know…another horrible pic. Again, iPhone.)

It all started with a big bag of plums I had. I couldn’t figure out what to do with them. I didn’t really have an occasion for plum cake and I wasn’t in the mood for a crisp, but pancakes sounded divine. And poppy seeds seemed like the perfect addition.

In addition to not looking great in a stack on a plate, the pancakes also do not look great when you pour the batter into the pan. That’s because there are lots of slices of plum in them.

It actually looks like I’m frying them here, but that’s just the juice from the plums reacting to the butter — you only need a little butter or oil at the bottom of the pan, just like with regular pancakes. Trust me, this is one of those projects that seems like a total disaster until you take the first bite. Then, yum!

Plum Poppy seed Pancakes

(as per usual, I adapted a basic recipe from the New Settlement Cookbook to suit my needs)

Ingredients

• 3-4 small plums, cut in half, pitted, then finely sliced.
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1 tablespoon melted butter

Directions

1. Sift together the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
2. Add the sour cream, eggs and butter, stirring until just mixed after each addition.
3. Gently fold in the sliced plums and poppy seeds.
4. Heat a griddle or non stick pan with a little bit of oil or butter, lightly coating the pan. The pan is ready when you can sprinkle a little water from your fingertips and it immediately sizzles, but doesn’t evaporate on contact.
5. Carefully pour your batter into the pan. I used about a quarter cup for each pancake. Cook until the surface is covered with bubbles, then flip and brown the other side.
6. Remove from pan and repeat step 5 with remaining batter.
7. These are fantastic with butter, syrup, jam, etc. They also freeze and reheat well (I’ve tried both a microwave and a toaster oven successfully).

Bon appetite!