This dish is the metropolitan melting pot of the pudding world. It crosses continents to bring together the exotic fragrances of Asia, the fruits and florals of the British countryside and the sweet nut oils of the Middle East.
The raspberries get their sharpness from their prickly upbringing low down on the ground in Britain's home county hedgerows and gauzy thickets, amongst the carefully-treading voles, shrews, squirrels and hedgehogs. From germination they become expert at keeping watch for passing ramblers, taking cover behind a thorny bramble when one comes close with a plastic bag, collecting fruit for puddings and scratches for hands.
To complement the raspberry, fly nine hours east and come to a bumpy landing on a desert island, high in the tall tropical trees where the coconuts grow amongst green parrots and leaping frogs. The scientists will tell you that island soil erosion is what makes the palm trees bend down towards the water, but really, like the rest of us, they just want to cool off in the lapping sea.
Jet back west a bit to the Middle Eastern Mediterranean and from the sky you'll see the almond blossom looking like cotton wool balls all over the hills. The sweetness of the almond softens the sharpness of the raspberries and these two together would be good enough by themselves to flavour this pancake cake, like a batter-based Bakewell tart.
But strawberries play an essential decorative role in this recipe. Within minutes of coming out of the oven, the middle of this pudding will sink a bit, and the strawberries are bulky enough to decorate over the subsidence, saving the aesthetics of the day. That kind of charisma is typical of the strawberry. We should expect nothing less from a fruit that has muscled its way into a pivotal role of Wimbledon, one half tennis championship, one half raving conga line of spectators wailing for strawberries and cream.
Pancake Cake Recipe
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups almond milk
3/4 cup plain flour
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
2tbsp ground almonds
1 tbsp maple syrup or runny honey (optional)
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp organic butter
1 1/2 cups raspberries
To serve:
A handful of fresh strawberries and raspberries
icing sugar to dust
honey to drizzle
1 cup yogurt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place a baking dish inside the oven. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add flour, milk, ground almonds, coconut, sea salt, and maple syrup. Whisk until smooth and add the raspberries. Put the butter in baking dish. Remove the dish from the oven and pour it into the pancake batter. Place the batter into the baking dish and transfer to the oven. Bake until nicely browned and set.
Allow to cool, top with the berries, dust with icing sugar. Serve with a drizzle of honey and a dollop of greek yogurt.
Enjoy!
