Sticky griddled plums and pancakes

Glorious plums dusted with cinnamon sugar, grilled and served with a stack of griddled scotch pancakes, lashings of creme fraiche and a drizzle of honey.

It’s quick to make , but looks and tastes seriously impressive so is ideal as a dessert for wowing dinner party guests or even for a special birthday breakfast.

I was sent a huge George Foreman Grill and Griddle to test out, and this is the recipe I came up with for what seems like a never ending string of blogger challenges at the moment… This time it’s to celebrate National Get Grilling Week.

You can see what everyone else came up with for the budget of £30 to feed four people over on the Facebook page. Vote for your favourite who will be crowned Queen or King of the Grill.

I decided a dessert might be a bit different and tested the gadget to its full capabilities using both the grill and the griddle. The in-laws gave the dessert a very firm thumbs up – so whether I win the title or not, I’ve added a great new recipe to my repertoire.

Sticky griddled plum and pancake delight
serves 4

Ingredients

6 firm plums
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar*
300ml creme fraiche
2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

for the Scotch pancakes

110g plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, separated
150ml milk
1 tbsp butter, melted

*To make cinnamon sugar simply take a storage jar, add a cinnamon stick snapped in two then fill with golden caster or demerara sugar. If you don’t have time to make this in advance just use unflavoured brown sugar combined with a pinch of ground cinnamon.

Method

1. Cut the plums in half and carefully remove stones using a small knife. Lay out on a plate, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar and set aside.
2. Mix the creme fraiche with the sifted icing sugar in a bowl and then chill in the fridge until needed.
3. For the Scotch Pancakes: make the batter by sieving the flour, salt and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg yolk and half of the milk.
4. Mix until a smooth batter starts to form, and then gradually add the rest of the milk mixing all the time until you get the consistency of thick cream.
5. Stir in the butter. Whisk up the egg white until fluffy and then fold into the mixture until thoroughly combined. You should end up with a light aerated mixture.
6. Heat the flat griddle to setting 3, spoon a generous tablespoon of batter onto the griddle and swirl carefully using your spoon to form a circular shape about the same size as the palm of your hand. You should be able to fit four little pancakes on the griddle, so you’ll need to cook three batches.
7. After a minute or so bubbles will rise to the surface of the pancakes, so turn over using a palette knife then cook the other side for another minute.
8. Have a plate covered with a tea towel ready to transfer your cooked pancakes onto and then fold the tea towel over to cover and keep warm while the rest of your pancakes cook.
9. Meanwhile heat the grill section to 2 setting, place your plum halves cut side up on to the grill, bring down the lid and cook for 5 minutes. They will feel soft once they’re done and look a little crisped at the edges. You may need to do this in a couple of batches.
10. Assemble each plate with a stack of 3 pancakes, 3 plum halves and a generous dollop of sweetened creme fraiche. Drizzle with honey and dust with icing sugar.

Tip: For a lighter approach swap the creme fraiche for low fat yoghurt and ditch the icing sugar.

 Thanks to George Foreman Grills for sending me the grill to try and also for covering the cost of the ingredients I used in this recipe.

If you’re hungry for more recipes using the Grill and Griddle, then check out Gary from Big Spud’s healthy take on a roast: Sunday Grill and Helen from Fuss Free Flavour’s tempting Lemony Maple Chicken Thighs