Dorayaki, galettes and blintzes: Yotam Ottolenghi’s pancake recipes from around the world (2024)

It’s called Pancake Day (when it’s not being called Shrove Tuesday, of course), and as my 2022 wanderlust continues, I’m satisfying myself by looking farther afield for inspiration this year. I could have gone for Indian dosas – I love the fermented rice and lentil batter – or for flour- and yeast-based Russian blinis. Fluffy, shredded Austrian kaiserschmarrn would have gone down well, too, as would sweet Somalian malawah. But I flipped a coin (and pan), and ended up in Japan, northern France and back with the Israeli crepes of my youth.

Buckwheat galettes with creamy mushrooms and eggs

Galettes are savoury crepes made from buckwheat flour (which also means they’re gluten-free), and are a soft, yet robust vehicle for all sorts of fillings. Here, the addition of mushrooms and runny egg yolk makes them a hearty option for breakfast or brunch. Both the batter and cooked galettes keep well if made the day before. If making the batter early, you may need to add a splash of water to loosen it before cooking; and if cooking the galettes ahead, wrap them tightly and keep each galette separate with a sheet of greaseproof paper.

Prep 35 min
Cook 25 min
Serves 6

For the batter
250ml milk
1 egg
60g unsalted butter, melted
100g buckwheat flour ( I like Doves Farm)
Salt and black pepper
1 tsp olive oil

For the mushrooms
400g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
300g shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1½ tsp thyme leaves
1 ½ tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp aleppo chilli, or 1 tsp regular chilli flakes
1 tbsp soy sauce
70ml double cream
7 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced (70g)
6 medium eggs

Heat the oven to 240C (220C fan)/475F/gas 9. To make the galette batter, put the milk and egg in a medium bowl and whisk with a fork. Add the butter, flour and three-quarters of a teaspoon of salt, and whisk until completely smooth. Cover with a plate and set aside for 10 minutes.

Put a 20cm nonstick crepe pan (or frying pan) on a medium-high heat. Once hot, brush the pan lightly with olive oil – don’t be tempted to add too much, otherwise it will create holes in the galette and the filling will seep out. Measure out 100ml galette batter, ladle this into the hot pan and swirl so it covers the base. Cook for a minute or two, until the edges have set and the underside is lightly golden, then flip, cook for 10 seconds more on the other side, then transfer to a tray. Repeat with the remaining batter to make six galettes in total; they should be soft and pliable, and not overly browned or crisp (so they’re easier to shape later).

Meanwhile, put the mushrooms and three tablespoons of oil in a large baking tray and toss to coat. Roast, stirring once halfway, for 15 minutes, until lightly coloured, then tip into a medium bowl. Wipe clean the tray and set aside for later. Turn down the oven to 200C (180C fan)/390F/gas 6.

Put the final tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan on a medium-high heat and, once hot, stir in the garlic and thyme, and cook for two minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Add the roast mushroom mix and any juices from the bowl, two teaspoons of mustard, a teaspoon of aleppo chilli, and all the soy sauce and double cream, stir to combine, then leave to cook for 10 minutes, until all the cream has been absorbed. Off the heat, stir in the spring onions and set aside.

Lay one galette palest side up on a chopping board. Spread half a teaspoon of dijon mustard all over the top, leaving a 3cm gap around the edges, and spoon 100g of the mushroom mixture on top, still leaving the border. Fold over all four of the edges so the mushrooms are half covered and the galette is square in shape, then press down on the edges slightly so they stay folded (if need be, use extra mustard as glue).

Using a spatula, transfer the galette to a large baking tray, then repeat with the remaining galettes and filling.

Using a teaspoon, gently create a well in the centre of the exposed mushroom mixture on each galette and crack an egg into each. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, then bake for 10-12 minutes, until the egg whites have set but the yolks are still runny.

Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of aleppo chilli over the galettes, divide between six plates and serve hot.

Dorayaki with coffee cream and tahini chocolate sauce

Dorayaki (also known as mikasa) is a sweet Japanese pancake usually filled with red bean paste or a mix of red bean paste and cream. Here, I use coffee cream, and have added a dipping sauce, too. If you’d like to get ahead, make the pancakes the day before, wrap them up tightly in kitchen wrap and store in the fridge. However you make them, though, assemble only just before eating.

For the tahini chocolate sauce
90g tahini
60ml runny honey
1½ tsp soy sauce
1½ tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

For the coffee cream
150ml fridge-cold double cream
2 tbsp runny honey
1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or 1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp instant coffee granules

First make the batter. Put the flour, baking powder and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the eggs, honey, mirin and vanilla, and whisk until smooth, thick and glossy. Cover with a plate and set aside for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the tahini chocolate sauce in a small bowl, add three tablespoons of water and mix smooth. The sauce will thicken as it sits, so add a splash more water later, if need be; it needs to be pourable.

Set up your dorayaki station: put the sunflower oil in a small bowl, and have to hand a pastry brush and a cooling rack.

Put a large, nonstick frying pan (or large crepe pan) on a medium-low heat and brush very lightly with the oil. Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat – you don’t want the pancakes to colour too quickly. Blot any excess oil off the surface of the pan, because any large droplets will prevent the dorayaki’s signature smooth top from forming. Using an ice-cream scoop (if you have one; otherwise, use a tablespoon), weigh out 40g batter, drop it into the hot pan and leave to cook for three minutes, until the sides have set and small bubbles start to appear. Flip over the dorayaki with a spatula, cook for a minute more on the other side, until lightly golden, then transfer to the cooling rack. Repeat with the remaining batter, and cook two or three at a time once you’re more confident; you should end up with 10 in total. Leave the dorayaki on the rack to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put all the ingredients for the coffee cream in a medium bowl and whisk to soft peaks.

To assemble, spoon 30g coffee cream on to a dorayaki, leaving a 5mm border all around the edge, then lay a second dorayaki on top, to sandwich them together. Repeat with the remaining dorayaki and cream, so you have five dorayaki cream sandwiches, then arrange on a platter and serve with the bowl of tahini chocolate sauce alongside, for dipping.

Skillet blintzes with lemon, mascarpone and thyme

Blintzes, which are of Ashkenazi-Jewish origin, are filled and rolled pancakes. Here, I’ve used the cheesecake mix which would normally fill them as a base, which melts into a pool of warm, lemony, creamy sauce once grilled. The batter makes eight crepes, so either double up on the filling quantities or save the remaining crepes for another day.

Prep 25 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 4

125g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml whole milk
70g unsalted butter, melted
Salt
2 lemons
75g caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3-4 sprigs thyme, plus 1 tsp picked leaves
1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
100g mascarpone
50g double cream
130g good-quality lemon curd
½ tsp icing sugar
1 tbsp toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped

Put the flour, eggs, milk, 20g melted butter and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt into the jug of a blender and blitz for 30 seconds, until smooth. Pour into a medium jug, cover with kitchen wrap and set aside.

Put a 20cm nonstick crepe pan (or frying pan) on a medium heat and, when hot, brush the surface with a little butter. As soon as it sizzles, pour 60ml batter into the centre of the pan and swirl it around into a thin, even layer. Cook for 30 seconds, until lightly golden brown, then flip and cook it for 20 to 30 seconds on the other side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining crepe batter. Keep the remaining tablespoon or so of melted butter to one side.

Using a small, sharp knife, cut the tops and tails off the lemons, then cut off the skin and pith, working down the fruit’s natural curves. Place a sieve over a small bowl. Working over the bowl, slice in between each membrane to release the lemon segments into the sieve. Squeeze whatever is left of the lemons into the same bowl, to get an extra tablespoon of juice. Put the segments into a separate small bowl.

Put the caster sugar in a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and cook, swirling the pan gently, until it melts and turns to an amber caramel. Take off the heat, add the lemon juice – careful: it will splutter! – a tablespoon of water, a pinch of salt and the thyme sprigs, and whisk until smooth and melted. Add half a teaspoon of the vanilla, then pour the mix over the lemon segments and stir to combine. Heat the grill to its highest setting. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining teaspoon of vanilla with the mascarpone, double cream and 50g lemon curd and stir until smooth, then spread out over the base of a round shallow 26cm baking dish.

Spread a tablespoon of the remaining lemon curd over one of the crepes, then fold it in half, and then in half again, so you have a triangle. Repeat with the remaining curd and three crepes, then arrange them on top of the mascarpone cream. Brush with the reserved melted butter and sift the icing sugar over the top. Grill for four to five minutes, until golden and are starting to catch a little around the edges, then remove. Drizzle with some of the lemon thyme syrup, scatter over the hazelnuts and serve hot with extra syrup alongside.