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Rich Pancakes, Fried Without Butter or Lard (Beat six fresh eggs extremely)
978. Beat six fresh eggs extremely well, and mix when strained with a pint of cream, four ounces of sugar, a glass of wine, half a nutmeg grated, and as much flour as will make it almost as thick as ordinary pancake batter, but not quite. Heat the frying-pan tolerably hot, wipe it with a clean cloth; then pour in the batter to make thin pancakes, and watch them that they do not burn, which is to be prevented by turning them.
A very rich, thin egg-and-cream batter cooked in a dry pan, the fat coming from the cream rather than from the pan. The sugar content is high, so heat control is the whole job.
- The dry pan is the hingeNothing greases the pan but the cream in the batter, so a well-seasoned cast-iron or a good nonstick pan is essential; a bare stainless pan will weld the first pancake to the metal. Wipe the hot pan with a cloth as directed to remove any dust or residue, and re-wipe between pancakes.
- Heat, downward"Tolerably hot" needs interpreting against four ounces of sugar in the batter, which browns long before flour does. Medium heat, not the high heat used for plain crepes, and pull the pan off the burner if the first one colours in under a minute.
- A pint of creamAn imperial pint is 20 fl oz, so about 2 1/2 US cups. Period cream was unstandardised, but a single or pouring cream (roughly 18-20% fat) is probably closer to the mark than modern heavy cream, which may make the batter heavy.
- A glass of wineA wineglassful in mid-Victorian recipes is usually reckoned at about 2 fl oz, though the measure was never standardised. Sherry, Madeira or a sweet white all suit; the alcohol also thins the batter slightly.
- Half a nutmegHalf a whole nutmeg grated comes to roughly a rounded teaspoon, which is assertive by current taste. Start with half that if you are unsure.
- Flour by feelNo quantity is given because the batter is judged by consistency: slightly thinner than ordinary pancake batter, near single-cream thickness. Add plain flour gradually to the strained egg-and-cream mixture until it reaches that point, and strain again if it lumps.
- StrainingThe instruction to strain the beaten eggs removes membrane and any shell, and is worth keeping; strain the finished batter too, and let it rest 20-30 minutes so the flour hydrates.
- Yield and servingA good number of thin pancakes from this quantity of batter -- likely fifteen or more in a 9-inch pan -- serving four to six. They are already sweetened, so lemon and a little sugar is ample.