Upside-Down Apple Pancake

I often wondered how it is like to be a farm girl: me rocking a beautiful red checkered shirt, with a pair of skinny jeans tucked into my gumboots, holding a spade posing under a sun…looking over rows of apple trees beaming with pride. Oh so cool!

Zzziiipp…Okay, I’m daydreaming. Having a questionable “green thumb” as evidenced by the state of the potted oregano and thyme that was dehydrated prematurely, I still have a long way (think from Orange, NSW to Canada on foot) to go before I can run a farm.

{A beautiful farm land in Nashdale, NSW)

Fortunately, having a good connection helps. No, I don’t mean owning and running a farm. But living my fantasy through a friend who owns a farm in Nashdale. My recent visit to his farm was the closest brush I have with farm life. Hard work, determination, passion and patience are some of the key ingredients in running a successful orchard/farm. There’s no room for crying and whining over ruin manicure, dirty boots, and sore muscle for too much heavy lifting etc. Not to mention the reliance of weather to ensure the economic sustainability of a farming business.  Farming sure seems rosier in my mind than in real life!

Instead of going home with a Black Angus at the back of my trunk (haha just kidding), I was given a more portable gift – freshly picked green apples. Although they are fantastic on their own (somewhat better i.e. sweeter and long lasting than the ones I have been getting from the supermarket), I decided to use some of them for this super fluffy upside-down apple pancake. This is a good recipe if you don’t feel like flipping pancakes for a big crowd in the morning. 🙂

Upside-Down Apple Pancake

(adapted from Step By Step Desserts and Confections)

(Serves about 4 people)

What you need:-

• 3 large Golden Delicious apples/ green apples
• 60g (2 oz) butter
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 120g (4 oz) caster sugar (half to be added in the apples, and the remaining to go in the pancakes)
• 50g (1 2/3 oz) self-raising flour
• 5 tbsps milk
• 4 eggs, separated

Things you may want to know:-

• Original recipe asked for 50g (1 2/3 oz) plain flour and 1/2 tsp baking powder which I have substituted with self-raising flour.
• It would be handy to use a pan which is oven friendly.
• The recipe does not recommend the replace butter with margarine because it separates from sugar during cooking.

Let’s do it:-

(1) Peel and core apples. Slice each apple about 3mm/ 1/8 inch thick. (2) Place large frying pan (diameter 25 cm / 10 inch) over medium-low heat. (3) Put butter in frying pan. Melt butter, then stir in cinnamon and 60g (2 oz) sugar; remove pan from heat. (4)In butter mixture in pan, arrange apple slices, overlapping them slightly – you can arrange the apple slices in a circle starting from the edge of pan or my way, in a straight line. (5) Return pan to low heat; cook for 10 minutes or until apples are tender but still crisp. (6) Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (400 degrees F). In a medium bowl, beat flour, milk and egg yolks until blended, set aside. (7) In a separate large bowl, with electric mixer on full speed, beat egg whites and remaining until soft peak have formed.  With rubber spatula, fold egg whites into egg yolk mixture very gently. (8) Cover apple slices in pan with pancake miuxture; spread mixture evenly with rubber spatula. (9) Bake pancake in oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove pan from oven and carefully invert pancake on to a flat plate. (Emiliy – garnish with fruits if you wish.)