A friend of ours made these crispy-edged, pear-studded pancakes recently and had the audacity to send us pictures without sharing a single bite. What’s more, his super-sneaky method for infusing both the pears and the batter with ginger stopped us in our tracks. Just guess what he did!
First, our friend made a “tea” of smashed ginger pieces and about a cup of boiling water. Then he chopped up a few ripe pears and let those pieces infuse for a few minutes in the gingery tea (pictured above).
The next step is what we thought was especially brilliant. He drained the pear bits, but saved the ginger tea. When he made the pancake batter, he substituted some of the liquids in his recipe with his ginger tea. The result was a sweet and fruity gingery flavor in every bite - or so our friend told us since he wasn’t sharing.
Doesn’t that sound good? And such a simple idea that can be applied to whichever pancake recipe you love best. We’re excited to pick up some pears at the market this weekend and give these pancakes a try for ourselves.
• Need a Pancake Recipe? Try our recipe for Light and Fluffy Pancakes.
Related: Good Question: What is the Best Pancake Spatula?
(Images: used by permission, Adam Hilliker)
Straw Mat from The ...

So the pear pieces that were steeping in the ginger tea then get mixed into the pancake batter, right? Sounds delicious!
Yes, that's right - Pear bits get mixed into the batter!
Mmm, I just might try that this weekend!
Wow, that's fantastic.
Well, I know what I'm doing for breakfast tomorrow... Those look spectacular!
I made these on Sunday! They were good but I probably won't make them again. The ginger flavor was very subtle. I put a big knob of ginger in my food processor – it made about a cup. I poured boiling water over and let it steep for 20 minutes or so, then let my pear soak in the liquid for another half an hour. I replaced the milk in my pancake recipe with dried buttermilk and the ginger tea. The pancakes were good but not spectacular. If I made them again, I would probably add some candied ginger to the batter to kick up that ginger flavor.
Why not just add a small amount of grated ginger to the batter? That would certainly give a kick. Im not a fan of letting the pears steep..afraid it might change the texture.