Colm O'Gorman: Try these summery buttermilk pancakes with orange, candied pecans, and bacon 

Nobody wants a heavy fry-up during a heatwave, these light and fluffy pancakes are ideal for warm weather weekend brunch

I have a lovely summery pancake recipe for you this week. 

I adore buttermilk pancakes. They are simple to make, and my recipe always produces light and fluffy pancakes that are perfect with fresh fruit and other toppings. 

For this recipe, I use freshly grated orange zest and juice in the batter, and then serve the dish with segments of fresh orange, candied pecans, crème fraiche, crisp streaky bacon, and maple syrup. 

Buttermilk pancakes with orange, candied pecans, and bacon

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

This is a heavenly brunch dish, and perfect for a weekend feast.

Servings

15

Preparation Time

 19 mins

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 9 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 American

Ingredients

• To make the pancakes:

• 350g plain flour

• 2 tsp caster sugar

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon (optional)

• 4 eggs

• 500ml buttermilk

• 1 orange

• Butter to cook the pancakes

• To serve:

• 3 oranges

• 300g crème fraiche

• 100g pecans

• 1 ½ tsp soft brown sugar

• Pinch of flaky sea salt

• Streaky bacon

• Maple Syrup

Method

1. Make the candied pecans before mixing your batter so they have enough time to cool. Heat a non-stick pan over a high heat. Toss in the pecans and dry toast them until they start to lightly brown, and you can smell that lovely roasted nutty fragrance. Toss the pan now and again to ensure they do not burn and are evenly toasted, this will only take two to three minutes.

2. Combine the sugar and sea salt together in a small bowl with 30ml of water. If you want to add a little more flavour, add a tiny splash of vanilla essence, just an eighth of a teaspoon will do, or a sprinkle of cayenne pepper. Drizzle this mixture over the toasted pecans, stirring all the while. Keep stirring for about 30 seconds until the pecans are coated in the sugar mixture and it has caramelised.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately spread the pecans over a silicone baking mat or some non-stick baking paper and allow them to cool. Try and spread them out well so at they do not clump, but do not worry if you cannot. You can always break them apart once they have cooled if necessary.

4. Time now to make your batter. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon if you are using it together in a large bowl. Separate the eggs. Zest and juice one orange. Lightly beat the yolks and add the buttermilk, orange zest and juice and mix well. Combine the wet and dry ingredients with a spoon to make a smooth batter.

5. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. I use a handheld electric whisk for this, but you can use a hand mixer if you prefer. Add half of the whisked egg whites to the batter, and using a spatula, fold them in until they are incorporated. This is how you incorporate all the air in the egg whites into the batter and make it light and airy.

6. Use a flexible spatula with a wide base to add half of your whisked egg whites to the batter, just place it in on top of the batter. Do this in a big mixing bowl, you need a bit of room to do it properly. Get the spatula in under the batter and scoop some up, folding it in over the egg whites. Repeat this until the egg whites are well combined, using slow folding motions. Take your time and do not stir the batter or you will knock the air out of the egg whites. Once the first half of egg white is folded in, repeat once more with the remainder. This might sound like a bit of a faff, but it will only take a few minutes or so and doing it properly makes the world of difference.

7. Before you cook the pancakes, segment the oranges. Slice a little off the top and the bottom of each orange to give two flat edges so that the orange can stand on one end. Using a sharp knife, and starting at the top of the orange, slice downwards following the curve of the fruit to cut away the peel and pith. Now use the knife to gently slice between one of the segments and the connective membrane, cutting until you reach the middle of the fruit but not through the membrane. Repeat to remove all the segments.

8. Warm a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat, throw on a knob of butter, and let it melt until the butter foams. Turn the heat down to medium and spoon on some of the pancake batter. You want the pancakes to be about 8-10cm in diameter. Do not crowd the pan as you want enough room to be able to flip the pancakes comfortably. I have a large pan that I use, and I cook three pancakes at a time which is the perfect serving size per person.

9. As soon as you start to see the surface of the pancake bubble, flip them over in the pan. The underneath should be toasted and golden. Cook the other side for about three minutes. Flip the pancakes again to check they are cooked to perfection, before popping them onto a warm plate and moving on to the next batch. While you are cooking the pancakes, grill plenty of streaky bacon until it is crisp and golden. Add a teaspoon of maple syrup to the crème fraiche to sweeten it a little and whisk to combine it in.

10. When the pancakes are ready, serve a stack of three per person, with a dollop of crème fraiche, and some orange segments on top. Drizzle with maple syrup and scatter some candied pecans over the top. Serve with the crispy bacon on the side.