When food editor Lillian Chou was faced with creating a recipe to use up the scant cup of sour cream left over from our Ravioli with Green Beans and Prosciutto, she immediately thought of pancakes. She knew that the sour cream would act like buttermilk to produce a very tender texture. But the eureka moment came when she thought to combine some of the sour cream with maple syrup and butter for a topping. The result is the color of café au lait, with the tang of sour cream playing off the syrup’s deep sweetness.
For syrup
Scant 1/2 cup sour cream
1/3cuppure maple syrup
3tablespoonsunsalted butter, cut into pieces
For pancakes
1cupall-purpose flour
1tablespoonsugar
1teaspoonbaking soda
1/2teaspoonsalt
1/2cupsour cream
1/2cupwhole milk
1large egg
2tablespoonsunsalted butter, melted, plus additional for cooking pancakes
Make syrup:
Heat all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until butter has melted.
Make pancakes:
Preheat oven to 200°F.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together sour cream, milk, egg, and melted butter (2 tablespoons), then whisk into flour mixture.
Brush a 12-inch nonstick skillet with melted butter and heat over medium heat until hot. Working in batches, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake into skillet and cook until bubbles appear on surface and undersides are golden brown. Flip and cook other side, about 1 minute. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in oven. Lightly butter skillet between batches.