• Recipe by Jacques Erasmus

    Red velvet pancakes with poached plums

    Serves: 6

    Ingredients

    • 200g (1 cup) sugar
    • 500ml (2 cups) water
    • 2 cinnamon sticks
    • pinch salt
    • juice and rind of ½ a lemon
    • 6 plums, halved
    • 240g (2 cups) cake flour
    • 45ml (3 tbsp) cocoa powder
    • 10ml (2 tsp) baking powder
    • 2,5ml (½ tsp) bicarbonate of soda
    • 2,5ml (½ tsp) salt.
    • 500ml (2 cups) buttermilk
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) white vinegar
    • 105g (½ cup) castor sugar
    • 2 large eggs
    • 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
    • 80g melted butter
    • 250ml (1 cup) crème fraîche
    • 140g (1 cup) crushed raspberries
    • seasonal berries, to serve

    Instructions

    1

    Dissolve the sugar in the water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

    2

    Add cinnamon, salt, lemond juice and rind.

    3

    Gently poach the plums in the syrup until soft, about 25 minutes.

    4

    Combine the cake flour with cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

    5

    Mix together the buttermilk, vinegar, castor sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and melted butter.

    6

    Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. Lightly butter a non-stick pan and make large or small pancakes.

    7

    Serve the pancakes warm with the poached plums and crème fraîche marbled with crushed raspberries.

    8

    Finish with a few more seasonal berries.