Blackberry pancakes with an apple, blackberry and cinnamon compote

Pancakes and sausages are my 2 favourite breakfast ingredients and, as it's nearly autumn, there are lots of lovely ingredients in the garden to go with them.  So I headed into the orchard, where the apples are throwing themselves off the trees and the wildflower meadow, where we have lots of blackberries just now.

This recipe will feed 2 people very generously with about 5 small pancakes each. You could halve it for more  a manageable breakfast.

If you don't have much time at breakfast, try my Homemade Pancake Mix. Much tastier and cheaper than shop bought mix. Click Here for the recipe.

Pancake Ingredients

• 1 cup ( 150g ) Plain ( all purpose flour )
• 2 tablespoons ( 30g ) white sugar
• 1/4 tsp bicarbonate soda ( baking soda )
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 cup ( 225 ml ) buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon ( 25g ) melted butter
• About 30 small blackberries

Compote ingredients

• 1 large eating apple - granny smiths are good - cored, peeled and chopped into large cubes
• 10 small blackberries
• 2 tablespoons ( 25g ) melted butter
• 1/2 tablespoon on brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Method

Put the apples, butter, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon in a small frying pan and cook over a medium heat for about 6 or 7 minutes.  Stir it frequently and keep an eye on the apples. It may take less of more time depending on your apple type. You want them beginning to soften but not disintegrating.

When the compote is ready, take it off the heat and stir in the blackberries and maple syrup.

Mix the dry pancake ingredients together in a large bowl. Mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Stir the wet mix into the dry mix, Don't over stir - just stir enough so that all the flour is mixed in. You're looking for it to resemble a thick mix like extra thick double cream.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat. Brush the pan with melted butter generously, then put about a couple of tablespoons into the pan for each pancake. Don't overcrowd the pan as the mix will spread. Put 3 blackberries into the top of each pancake.

When bubbles start to appear  on the top of the pancakes then flip and cook until browned on both sides - just pick up the edge of the pancake with your spatula to check how brown it's getting. One of the tricks to getting perfect pancakes and is getting the temperature right. This will depend on the weight of your frying pan and the temperature of your cooker.

Serve with the compote and extra maple syrup if required.