Peanut pancakes (apam balik)

Apam balik is a traditional Malaysian street food, with a delicious filling inside a folded pancake. Chocolate ice-cream is a great addition for serving this as an at-home dessert.

• serves

  6

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 cups (300 g) plain flour
• 1 cup (150 g) rice flour
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 1 can (400 milk) evaporated milk
• 1 cup (250 ml) cold water
• Vegetable oil or clarified butter, for greasing the pan
• 50 g cold butter, sliced into thick pats, to serve
• 1 cup crushed roasted peanuts
• 1 cup soft brown sugar
• Good-quality chocolate ice cream, to serve

Chilling time: 1 hour.

Instructions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk the eggs, evaporated milk and water in a separate bowl. Whisk the liquids into the solids a little at a time and fold gently to a smooth batter. Strain the batter through a fine sieve and stand in the fridge for at least 1 hour before cooking.
2. Heat a 20 cm frying pan over medium heat and grease with a little paper towel soaked in oil. Add a large ladle of batter to the pan and spread it over the base and a little up the sides of the pan. Cook the pancake until dry on top and crisp underneath.
3. Rub the top of the pancake with a little butter and scatter generously with peanuts and brown sugar. Fold the pancake over and serve with a scoop of ice cream.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.