Caramel Pear and Walnut Pancakes

People say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I rarely eat breakfast, and settle for a mug (or 2) of coffee - which is bad. But the weekends are the days that I usually make an extra effort. The recent weekend was one of these productive days.

We had a few pears in the fridge and not keen on letting them go to waste I decided to make a fast and autumn-themed breakfast. This is a simple basic American-style pancake recipe, no fuss and frills.

You can even have these as a dessert, because pancakes are not only for breakfast!

Ingredients: (serves 2-3 people)

Pancakes
130g of all purpose flour
2 tbsp of sugar
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
250ml of milk
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 large egg

1 pear, quartered, cored and sliced.
3-5 tbsp of dark brown sugar
1 tsp of unsalted butter
A handful of walnuts
1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil (for the skillet)

Preparation:

Caramel Pears

1. Heat up a pan on medium heat and melt the butter.

2. Arrange the sliced pears in the pan. Sprinkle the dark brown sugar on top. Leave it alone to heat up and bubble like below.

3. Once the pears are soft and cooked, mix in the walnuts and stir.

4. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pancakes

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, vegetable oil and egg. Gently fold in the flour mix, until moistened, but be sure not to overmix; a few lumps are fine.
3. Heat a large skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Rub the pan with an oiled paper towel.
4. For each pancake, spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter onto the hot pan/skillet, using the back of spoon to spread the batter into a circle.
5. Cook until you see a few bubbles on the surface of the pancake. Flip it over, and cook until it has browned on the underside.
6. Transfer the pancake onto a plate. Keep covered so the pancakes don't get cold.
7. Repeat - start with rubbing the pan with an oiled paper towel. This batter should make approximately 10 - 12 pieces of pancakes - all depends on how big and thick you cook your pancakes.

8. Once ready to serve, add the pancakes on a plate and garnish with the caramel pears and walnuts.
9. Serve it with more syrup if you like, and it even goes well with ice cream!