You didn’t think I’d forget America did you?

Well of course not! I may be a worldly bon vivant. But let’s face it– even after a week of pancakes from across the globe, when I say pancake you still think of Sunday morning. Because steaming stacks of hotcakes dripping with syrup and melted butter does indeed conjure up comfortable memories of hearth and home.

So to properly end this series I bring you the classic buttermilk pancake of your childhood.  Except when I say classic. I really mean an updated (slightly) more healthy version of this breakfast staple. That’s because these are Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes with a touch of wheat germ. They are still light and fluffy, but they have a more complex, slightly nutty flavor that I enjoy.

The key to good pancakes is the heating surface you choose. It must conduct and retain heat very well, and (most importantly) very evenly.  Whether it be a pan, a skillet, or a griddle I suggest cast iron. But there are some very good non-stick pans on the market too.

This is number 5 in my week of international pancakes, and we are off (once again) to the largest continent on the planet. This pancake is probably the least known of all the pancakes I have presented this week, at least to my western readers. In fact compared to the similarly prepared Indian cousin Dosa, this southern Indian pancake is hardly a household staple even in India.

But I may be getting ahead of myself here. In case you don’t know Dosa are an Indian rice and dal pancake. It seems that a Dosa is often fine textured and thin like a crêpe. At least the Dosa I have eaten in restaurants.

This version is called Adai and as I said is a specialty of the southern regions of India. Just like a Dosa, Adai is made with rice and urad dal (which is nothing like the mash of spiced orange lentils you may be used to when thinking of dal, but more on that later). One difference is that the cooks in the south of India include another type of dal also called tuvar dal– which according to my research is a southern staple. As typical of southern Indian cooking, Adai is spicier and more strongly flavored with the addition of hot red chili peppers, kadi patta, and ginger.

Today’s pancake journey takes us to Jolly Old England. I promised you week of international pancakes and I am trying deliver; thereby proving that all nations– indeed all cultures, have some version of a pancake in their food traditions. Great Britain is certainly no exception. This is Toad-In-The-Hole and it is DAY 2.

I chose this pancake because it is classic pub food. It has the oddball name though, and I'll admit that is part of its allure to me. It is traditionally made with pork sausages (bangers) and a rich batter of flour, milk, and eggs. As this batter bakes, it gets puffed up, Yorkshire pudding style. The result is a beautifully browned, raised crust that encompasses the meat.

Do you ever hang out in pubs? I don’t know about where you live, but updated versions of the classic pub are popping up like toadstools all over Los Angeles. I was recently in one of the self-proclaimed “gastro-pubs” and noticed Toad-In-The-Hole being served.

Now I have a confession, until that day I had a very mistaken idea of what a true-to-the-Brits Toad-In-The-Hole actually was! I’d always called the egg that is fried in the hole in the middle of a piece of bread by the moniker Toad-In-The-Hole. But that’s incorrect. That dish is properly called Chicken-In-A-Basket, or Eggs-In-A-Basket. So when I saw a proper version of Toad-In-The-Hole being served my first shocked thought was, that looks nothing like a toad to me!