Comfort Me With Apples

Orange Cottage Cheese Pancakes with Lemon and Passionfruit Curds

Ah, pancakes. For most of my life I would have told you that I just don't like pancakes. They're kind of flat and soggy and just don't taste very good. I've slowly come to realize, however, that it's not pancakes themselves I don't like, it's what boxed mixes have done to change people's expectations of what a pancake is. I don't like box mix pancakes, and I've never liked diner style pancakes because they come to you as flavorless discs that you're expected to drown in butter and maple-flavored corn syrup. This falls under the Soggy Bread Category for me, and triggers my gag reflex.

But, as I've grown in the kitchen and become a better cook, I've realized that a pancake can be a light, fluffy, flavorful affair, and much more than just a vehicle for maple syrup. Start with cottage cheese and a few fresh eggs, add some fresh orange juice and zest for flavor, lighten them up by beating the egg whites before adding them in, and you have something much more than just a pancake. This is something I'll gladly put on my plate all on its own or maybe with just a pat of butter and a touch of real maple syrup.

Of course, I had a lazy Sunday morning in front of me, several egg yolks I needed to use up, and a freshly purchased package of passion fruit juice burning a hole in my refrigerator. What's a girl to do? In the interest of cleaning out the refrigerator I whipped up some lemon and passion fruit curds, sent the husband to the store for some cottage cheese, and got down to making breakfast.

Recipes

 

   
Pankcakes topped with lemon and passion fruit curds and vanilla yogurt with peppered bacon and orange slices

Fluffernutter cupcakes

Nothing goes better with peanut butter than chocolate. I think we all agree on that, but my last several cupcake recipes had been chocolate heavy and very rich. So when our friends announced they were having a party, and with it just on the verge of spring outside, I decided to go a little lighter. And what's the second best flavor to go with peanut butter? Why, marshmallow, of course.

Now, I didn't grow up in New England, and my parents were crunchy Northern California hippy types, so fluffernutters aren't a part of my heritage. I had never even heard of them until well into adulthood. But really, who can resist creamy peanut butter and sticky marshmallow fluff on soft white bread (all things we never had in the house growing up, by the way)?  And if that sounds good, just imagine it in cupcake form.

So I knew the first thing I needed was a soft white cake base. I also just recently made a trip to Penzey's Spices to pick up some Mexican Vanilla, and I wanted a simple cake that would show off the flavor. I ended up using a labor intensive, but absolutely perfectly moist, recipe I've been using for a few years now. It uses a massive amount of stiffly beaten egg whites for leavening, but I had some asparagus in the fridge, so I knew I could make a Hollandaise with the leftover yolks the next day.

Next was the filling. I wanted it to have a very cupcake feel since the fluffernutter sandwich is such an American icon, and I felt like peanut butter butter cream would bring more to the table than just straight peanut butter. After filling I whipped up the marshmallow butter cream using everyone's favorite Marshmallow Fluff. I wasn't sure the flavor would be strong enough with that alone, but it turned out fine.

I topped each cupcake with a few peanut butter chips, and knew I had gotten it right. Everyone's favorite white trash sandwich in cupcake form.

Recipes