Passover Pancakes

 

We finally had a special Passover dinner in our own home this year – we had been saying for a long time that we should celebrate, and I guess it just took the second year of a worldwide pandemic to do it? Well, on the morning of the first day of Passover, I made these pancakes that I had bookmarked forever ago. (I also made a shredded apple kugel a few weeks later, but it was only okay. Kugels can be noodle-based or potato-based, and for Passover, this is obviously the latter.) 

I couldn’t find matzo cake meal anywhere, but since I needed it for another recipe I wanted to make this year, I decided to buy it online. Apparently, you can use 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. of matzo meal, blitzed in the food processor, instead of 1 cup of matzo cake meal. That being said, the consistency of matzo cake meal felt so fine and uniform to me that I’m glad I bought the container! I’m not sure what to make with the rest of it, though – there’s a recipe printed on the back for brownies, but it calls for 2 ½ cups of sugar and 1 ¼ cups of oil, so that’s not happening. I’ll probably just make more pancakes! 

As for the tapioca starch, that’s what makes the pancakes so chewy and, in my opinion, they would be different without it. However, the original recipe does say you can use potato starch instead. You can also use more milk to thin out the batter for crêpes. 

I made a double batch (the salt amount below is mine) and got 13 small pancakes (so the amounts below would probably yield only 6 small pancakes). I never bother keeping them warm in the oven, though! 

2/3 cup matzo cake meal 

1/3 cup tapioca starch 

1 Tbsp. sugar 

1 tsp. kosher for Passover baking powder 

1/8 tsp. salt 

1 ¼ cups lactose-free milk 

2 large eggs (lightly beaten) 

2 Tbsp. lactose-free butter, melted 

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract 

Preheat the oven to 200 °F. Have an ovenproof serving platter or baking dish ready so you'll be able to keep the prepared pancakes warm in the oven. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the matzo cake meal, tapioca starch, sugar, and baking powder. 

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk well until the ingredients are well-combined and the batter is smooth. 

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Grease the skillet with a little oil or butter. Drop the batter by spoonfuls (about 2 to 3 tablespoons each) into the skillet (mine were bigger). Depending on the size of your skillet, you should be able to make 3 or 4 pancakes at a time. 

Allow the pancakes to cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the edges are set and you begin to see bubbles on the surface. Use a wide, thin spatula to carefully flip the pancakes, and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes more, or until golden brown on both sides. 

Transfer the cooked pancakes to the platter, tent with foil, and keep warm in the oven while you make the rest of the pancakes. Serve warm with jam, cinnamon and sugar, or pure maple syrup.