Snow Cloud Coconut Pancakes

Two and a half months into our adventure I’ve finally baked! Well, actually no, I’ve pan-fried, I’ve whipped up these heavenly little pancakes twice during our stay in Hong Kong. And by whipped up, I kinda mean that; I had no measuring tool so I just threw ingredients into a bowl and hey presto…the lightest, fluffiest pancakes I’ve ever made! So light and fluffy I gave them a light and fluffy, festive name as Christmas is almost a breath away, snow cloud pancakes.

These coconut pancakes were totally inspired by the delicious Coconut Tarts that are sold all over Hong Kong. They are made with crisp flaked pasty and filled with rich, buttery coconut sponge and often have a cherry on top, I adored them. The yummiest I found were from a tiny bakery near the Vietnamese embassy, we were there applying for our Vietnam visa and they made a tasty snack on the way {theirs were without the cherry}, luckily we had to return a few days later to pick up our passports.

We rented an Airbnb apartment for our six night stay and it came with a small kitchen, alas no oven just a single electric hob and a microwave. I couldn’t try baking the tarts myself so I wondered what coconutty treat I could create with the tools available. My camper van baking training came into play and pancakes it was. This is the crudest of recipes, I used my eye for the most part and just the simple ingredients I could source in the small supermarket around the corner from the apartment. I beat the batter with a fork and used a glass to approximately measure out the ingredients.

I’m quite behind with the travel posts, I’ve only just finished Mongolia but think of it as quality over a fast turnover of posts. We have just arrived back in China after our stay in Hong Kong, before that we were roaming around China for four weeks. Over that last month we’ve come across a few festive decorations. Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau were all quite Christmassy, I guess it is a combination of colonial legacies and modern consumerism, even Chengdu was putting up Christmas decorations and constructing a German Christmas Market. It all helps to get us in the festive mood! Here’s a little Christmas themed gallery of pictures I’ve taken over the last couple of weeks, Macau was by far the most festive and was complete with a lovely nativity near the Cathedral.

> click on a photograph to open the gallery

Snow Cloud Coconut Pancakes

A good quality frying pan, makes around 10 small pancakes. The recipe is easily multiplied.

• 1 cup approx self-raising flour or 1 cup approx plain flour and 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 cup approx fine desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt {that’s one 150 g pot}
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 free-range eggs {I used them straight from the fridge}
• milk

• butter and oil to fry
• honey to serve

Sift the flour into a bowl then add the coconut, yoghurt, sugar and eggs. Beat together with a whisk or a fork to a lumpy batter adding enough milk if needed to reach a thick, liquid consistancy. Resist the urge to over mix, lumps are good.

Melt a heaped teaspoon of butter in your frying pan along with a teaspoon of oil to help prevent the butter burning. Add spoonful dollops of the batter and fry over a lowish heat, they should rise. Flip over and cook the other side, don’t worry if they colour a little around the edges, that’s partly the sugar. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve drizzled with honey, fresh fruit such as blueberries and raspberries would be amazing. Even a dusting of icing sugar would be heavenly.

A perfect festive breakfast!

Have a wonderful, treat-filled Christmas my wonderful followers, I adore you!

By Rachel Davis