Malaysian Apam Balik (Crispy Malaysian Pancakes) -- Eggless Recipe

Blogging Marathon# 38: Week 3/ Day 2
Theme: One Dish, Different Countries
Dish: Malaysia -- Apam Balik

Day 2 of BM# 38 and today I've Malaysian sweet pancakes for you. Apam Balik is a crispy thin pancake that is usually filled with sweetened peanuts. These are usually sold at specialist roadside stalls throughout Malaysia.
Watch this video to see how expertly the guy makes apam balik. I especially like the technique he uses to take them off the pan.

Traditionally these pancakes are made in brass molds since brass distributes heat evenly and the metal itself is thick and heavy, so food does not scald that easily. This post has clear pictures of the brass molds used to make Apam Balik. I don't own brass pans and have no plans of buying them, so I used a nonstick pan to do the job. After looking all those gorgeous looking pancakes, mine didn't turn out as golden and crispy in the pictures, but they tasted great.

I filled some of my Malaysian pancakes with sweetened peanuts, some with banana and Nutella, because that is the only way I can get my son to eat them. He likes peanuts, but once sweetened they are not peanuts anymore for him(!!!!!!!)
These pancakes need a little bit of planning since the batter needs to rest for at least 3 hours or overnight, so the smartest thing to do is to make the batter the night before and leave it in the refrigerator overnight. If you have time prep the fillings too and the next morning all you need to do is make the pancakes.

Ingredients: Makes 10~12 6" pancakes
Whole wheat Pastry flour - 1cup (you can also use All-purpose flour or a combination of APF & WWPF)
Rice flour - ½cup (for a healthier alternate, use brown rice sugar)
Corn Starch - 2tbsp
Baking powder - 1tsp
Baking soda - ¼tsp
Salt - ¼tsp
Sugar - 1/3cup
Vanilla Extract - ½tsp
Egg replacer - 1tbsp whisked in 3tbsp water (or 1 large egg)
Water - ½cup~1cup

For the Filling:
Peanuts - ½cup
Sugar - 1~2tbsp
Banana - 1 medium, chopped
Nutella - 2~3tbsp
Melted butter - as needed

Method:

• For the Pancake Batter: Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
• Whisk the wet ingredients in a measuring cup. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter comes together without any lumps.
• Cover and set the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. I stowed some leftover batter for 2 days and made the pancakes on the 3rd day and they tasted pretty good.
• For the Fillings: Coarsely grind/ chop/ pulse peanuts and sugar, set aside. Keep the chopped banana and nutella handy.
• To make Apam Balik: Heat a non-stick crepe pan or small skillet on medium flame. Once hot, rub some butter or lightly spray some vegetable oil, then pour a ladle full of batter and swirl the pan around to evenly coat the surface. Let cook for 1~2 minutes and once the top surface dries out and bubbles start to form, sprinkle the fillings and some melted butter on top. If adding banana and Nutella then add them on one half of the pancake, but chopped peanuts can be sprinkled all over the pancake.
• Continue cooking till the bottom is golden brown and crispy, this will take another 1~2 minutes depending on the size of the pan and the intensity of the flame. It might take a couple of trials to figure out the optimum heat level to make good Apam Balik.
• Roll up or fold the pancake and serve immediately.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 38.