Cinnamon Apple Stuffed Pancakes

This one started as a way to make breakfast feel like a treat without a heavy hand on the pantry. The pancakes are thin, soft whole wheat crepes, cooked on a tava (griddle) until they are just lightly golden on both sides. The filling is apples gently cooked with a stick of cinnamon, which is the part that makes the kitchen smell like a bakery on a Sunday morning.

A little fact worth knowing about apples: a lot of their flavour and aroma sits in the skin, so leaving the peel on while they cook gives you more of that fragrance and a bit of colour too. The wedges soften in a few minutes in a covered pan, and the splash of lemon juice keeps them bright rather than flat. If you find your apples are on the tart side, a little extra cinnamon from the stick goes a long way, so taste before you reach for anything else.

A tip on the batter: whisk it well and let it sit for a minute before the first ladle. Whole wheat flour takes up water slowly, and a batter that looks a touch thin at first will thicken as it rests. Keep the heat moderate. A pan that is too hot browns the outside before the middle sets, and then the folding becomes a struggle. Brush the tava with only a little butter between pancakes, since the crepes themselves are thin and do not need much fat to release.

Once folded, these are best eaten right away, while the apples are still warm and the pancake is pliable. Leftover cooked apples keep well in a covered container in the fridge for a couple of days and make a quick spoon-over for plain yoghurt. The unfilled pancakes stack nicely and can be wrapped and kept at room temperature for a few hours, then warmed briefly on a dry pan when you want them again.

For something savoury alongside, a bowl of plain yoghurt or a cup of masala chai balances the sweetness of the apples without adding anything heavy. If you want a fuller breakfast, pair them with a boiled egg or a handful of sprouts. Some of my favourite weekday breakfasts start with a tava-cooked snack like Crunchy Tava Roasted Oats Nimki, and a few of the flatbreads from Soft Oat and Flaxseed Flatbreads work well if you want a sturdier plate. For a lunchtime spread, Egg and Salsa Breakfast Tacos offer a savoury contrast that keeps things interesting.

Make these once and you will likely find yourself making them again, since the whole thing takes less time than it takes to decide what to have for breakfast.