from The Anime Café
Anime: KIRA KIRA PRECURE A LA MODE
SEASON 1, EPISODE 20: “Wanting to Mix It Up! Ichika and Ciel!”
PreCure, or pretty cure, is a Japanese series where pretty cute girls cure people with their abilities. In this case KiraKira PreCure is about pretty girls curing people with baked sweets! Middle schooler Ichika loves sweets. She lives in the real world with a magical team of Legendary Pâtissiers and a fairy named Pekorin. Together, they protect sweets from villains that turn desserts colorless and flavorless. Ichika asks the young celebrity prodigy pâtissier Ciel to be her teacher. To convince her, she makes pancakes with her inspired by fresh honey they’ve tasted. Ichika makes a three-stack of bear pancakes inspired by one of her favorite childhood books about three little bears eating honey. I wanted to include this recipe to show how everyday foods can easily be shaped into cute characters for simple joys in your home kitchen. Whoever you make this for is guaranteed to smile.
Ingredients
Pancakes:
1¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 pinches salt
1 large egg
¾ cup (180 ml) milk
2 tablespoons honey
Whipped Cream:
¼ cup (60 ml) heavy whipping cream
½ tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorations:
2 pink sprinkles
2 green star sprinkles
4 teaspoons chocolate hazelnut spread (such as Nutella)
4 fresh raspberries
Syrup or honey, for serving
Directions
To make the pancakes: In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt, then whisk with a wire whisk to combine. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the egg, then add the milk and honey and whisk until combined.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir until a thick, smooth batter forms. Transfer the mixture to a pouring vessel.
Wet a hand towel, wring out the excess water, and set aside by the stove. Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat and add 1 teaspoon of the oil. Carefully wipe the pan with a paper towel to remove excess oil and prevent the pancakes from becoming blotchy, then turn the heat to medium-low.
To create bear ears, pour a 1-inch (2.5 cm) circle of the batter in the top left of the pan and repeat in the top right of the pan, then pour a 4-inch (10 cm) circle of batter in the center of the pan and also overlapping about a quarter of the ears for the head. Cook for 2 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface of the larger pancake. Flip with a spatula and cook for 2 minutes more, or until golden brown on both sides. Remove the pan from the heat and set the bottom of the pan on the wet towel to prevent it from overheating. Transfer the bear pancake to a plate. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to create 5 more bear pancakes.
To make the whipped cream: In a medium bowl, combine the whipping cream, 1 tablespoon sugar, and vanilla. Using a handheld electric mixer with a whisk attachment, whip on medium speed, gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag and snip the tip to create a ½-inch (1 cm) hole.
To decorate: Squeeze about ½ teaspoon of the whipped cream onto the center of one plate to prevent the pancakes from slipping. Place a bear pancake on top and cover with whipped cream on the center, leaving a ½-inch (1 cm) border around the edge of the pancake. Use an offset spatula to spread the whipped cream flat. Set another pancake on top and repeat. Top with the third pancake and pipe a large mound of whipped cream on the bottom center of the pancake to create the nose. Pipe a smaller mound of whipped cream on the top-right side by the bear ear to make a headpiece. Place a pink sprinkle on top of the nose and a star sprinkle on the headpiece. Scoop 1 teaspoon of chocolate hazelnut spread on the upper left of the nose to create an eye and repeat for the upper-right side. Place 2 raspberries on the left side of the plate. Repeat this step for the second plate, then serve with syrup or honey.
YIELD: 2 servings
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
DECORATE TIME: 10 minutes
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: Once you’ve mastered the bear, you can make other fun characters into pancakes. Get your kids involved and have fun creating different designs. A great activity for March Break!
Reprinted with permission from The Anime Café by Nadine Estero. Illustrations by Jana Paynor. Published by Rock Point, an imprint of The Quarto Group, copyright 2024. https://www.quarto.com/books/9781631069918/the-anime-caf%C3%A9
