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Corn Flour Pancakes with Milk – Gluten-Free Dessert
Instructions
First, take all the ingredients out of the refrigerator and let them warm up to room temperature, around 20–22 °C. Cold milk will leave lumps in the batter, and cold eggs will not whisk up properly. Mix a third of the milk with the eggs, salt, sugar and vanilla. Stir with a culinary whisk until smooth.
Pour the cornmeal into the milk mixture. Be sure to sift the flour through a fine sieve – this aerates it so the batter comes out free of lumps. Use finely ground cornmeal: a coarse grind gives too gritty a texture and the pancakes will crack when you turn them.
Add the remaining milk and the vegetable oil to the pancake mixture. The corn oil can be replaced with refined sunflower or olive oil – an unrefined oil would give a harsh smell. Stir the batter with a whisk and leave it to rest for 10 minutes – during this time the flour swells and the texture becomes elastic.
Fry the thin pancakes without oil in a special non-stick pancake pan until golden – about 1 minute on one side and 30 seconds on the other. The pan should be well heated over medium heat, otherwise the batter will stick. The first pancake really may come out a mess – that means the pan has not yet reached the right temperature.
Serve the delicious, healthy, aromatic and very tender pancakes to the table along with a glass of milk or tea. Cover the stack of finished pancakes with a lid – that way they stay soft and pliable. Cold cornmeal pancakes break easily.
Tips
- 1
Let the batter rest for 10–15 minutes – the cornmeal needs to swell and absorb the liquid. Without this, the pancakes will be gritty and brittle.
- 2
The pan should be very well heated and ideally non-stick. Cast iron only works if it is well greased with oil.
- 3
The sugar can be replaced with liquid honey (once the batter has cooled) or with stevia for a diet version. I make buckwheat flour pancakes on a similar principle.
- 4
Serve with honey, berries, maple syrup, sour cream or a curd cheese filling – gluten-free pancakes are versatile.
FAQ
Why do the pancakes tear when you flip them? +
Cornmeal contains no gluten – and it is the gluten in wheat flour that makes pancakes elastic. That is why cornmeal pancakes are more fragile. To keep them from tearing: let the batter rest for 15 minutes, make the pancakes not too thin (about 2 mm), and turn them only once the top side has fully set and the edges begin to lift away from the pan. You can add 1 tablespoon of rice or buckwheat flour for extra elasticity.
Can I mix it with wheat flour? +
Yes, but then the pancakes will no longer be gluten-free and will lose their characteristic sunny colour. For a mixed version, use 50% cornmeal and 50% wheat flour – the pancakes will be more elastic and thinner. For elasticity without gluten, you can add 30 g of rice flour or a spoonful of starch – the result will be almost like ordinary wheat pancakes.
What should I serve cornmeal pancakes with? +
They go wonderfully with honey, maple syrup, berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries), sour cream, curd cheese, boiled condensed milk or chocolate spread. For savoury fillings, lightly salted salmon with cream cheese, grated cheese with herbs, or fried mushrooms all work well. You can also use them as a base for Mexican tacos with chicken or beef mince.
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