Baconcakes!

Baconcakes!

A largely unnoticed slab of yummy Americana, I'm trying to bring it back into the light. It isn't particularly healthy, but it is certainly one of the prettiest breakfasts ever. The concept is also AMAZINGLY simple; I'm sure most can get an idea as to how to do this from the picture alone. The most I can do is give tips for better presentation. However, for the sake of being thorough, I'll give the step by step.
  
For starters, get a nice, medium thickness pancake batter. Too thick and the batter won't pour evenly over the bacon, too thin and you'll have too much spread. Yes, this means you want the batter that Goldilocks chose. (Just right, for those of you who had childhoods bereft of "storytime") Use a box if you like; I grew up in a Bisquick household, myself. Works fine. Pull one from the myriad of pancake recipes off the 'Net if you want to do it yourself. Or you could use this one, below:

(serves about 4)

1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/4 cups Milk
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 oz Canola Oil

-Mix dry ingredients (except sugar)

-Mix wet ingredients (including sugar)

-Mix dry and wet ingredients together well.


 Put your batter aside for the time being and focus your attention on the Bacon. Now, your Bacon should be thick, meaty, and hickory smoked. A nice, strongly flavored Bacon. A "stand alone" bacon, if you will. From here, you have two options: Bake or Fry.

Frying the bacon has the advantage of pre-oiling the pan before you add your pancake batter. If you're only making this for one or two people it will be the fastest method of production. Also, you can more accurately gauge the doneness of your Bacon. (yes, I capitalize Bacon like a proper noun. It deserves to be.)

Baking has the advantage of giving a flatter slice of Bacon, more even rendering of fat, and better color without as much browning. If you're batching this recipe out for many people, this is the most effective method short of a commercial flattop grill. Best method - Wire rack on a cookie sheet. Reserve all rendered Bacon fat to oil your pan in the final cooking process.

Finale:

-Make sure your pan is well oiled with Bacon fat and that you have a slice of the smoky goodness in your pan.

-Carefully pour your batter over the Bacon lengthwise. Pour evenly and directly over the Bacon, it will spread as much as it needs to. 6 oz to a cup will suffice nicely.

-When your pancake gets bubbly across the top, give it a flip. Cook for another minute or so. It should be golden brown and crispy along the edges.

-Serve with lots of Maple Syrup and Butter.

Plated  with Bacon-Cilantro Roses and Strawberry garnish

-Keep for yourself.

Variations:

Two or more slices of Bacon per pancake, grouped tightly.

Chopped Bacon instead of (or in addition to) slices.