One Extra Step Is So Worth It For Luxurious, Fruity Pancakes

Pancakes are the ultimate breakfast (or lunch ... or dinner) of champions. They're so simple to prepare that even an amateur home cook can perfect them, and they are still tasty enough to satisfy the snobbiest of palates. But if you have ever wanted your homemade pancakes to taste like they came from a cozy, corner-side café rather than your own kitchen, there is one small step that makes a massive difference: roasting fruit before incorporating it.

While uncooked fruit is delicious on its own with bright and punchy flavors, roasting takes it to the next level, bumping up your pancakes from good to great. When the oven's high heat hits the fruit, its sugars start caramelizing and its juices reduce, creating deep, jammy flavors and a luxurious texture. It's far more complex and perfectly suited to compliment the warmth of the pancakes. All your favorite fruits can be roasted, extracting the best flavors out of them all.

Perhaps the greatest part of roasting fruit for pancakes is that there's no cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to its incorporation. You can fold the roasted fruit directly into your pancake batter before cooking, where it will create delicious pockets of caramelized sweetness without making your batter overly moist or soggy. Or, you can generously serve it on a tall stack of flapjacks, spooning on the richly flavored juices like a natural fruit compote. No matter how you do it, you will be left with pancakes that are as indulgent to eat as they are beautiful to look at.

We believe that there are so many fruits you need to be roasting. For instance, berries, such as strawberries and blueberries, come alive when roasted, like little jewels bursting with tart and sweet goodness. We like to make roasted berry and buttermilk pancakes to highlight these delicious morsels, where the deep, caramelized notes from the cooked fruit are wonderfully complemented by the buttermilk's zing of acidity. Stone fruits also pack a punch after being roasted, like peaches, plums, and cherries. Once cooked, they transform into sticky, gooey and aromatic slices that practically melt in each bite. Apples, pears, and even tropical fruits, like mangoes and pineapple, can also get a pleasant, candy-like sweetness. The options are nearly limitless, and experimenting with an array of different fruits is half the fun. After all, who would be opposed to more pancakes?

As for the "how-to" of roasting fruit, it's just as simple as choosing it. Every fruit behaves a little differently, but a general rule is to place the fruit in the oven at a high temperature until soft, bubbling, and golden brown. The key to perfect oven-roasted fruit is uniformity. When working with larger fruits, say, apples or pineapples, always be sure to slice them into pieces of the same size and thickness. This will help ensure a consistent bake. Otherwise, you will be left with some underbaked fruit chunks mixed in with some bits of pure char, which nobody wants.