Sour-Cream Pancakes With Sour-Cream Maple Syrup

So you have a craving for buttermilk pancakes, but no buttermilk in the fridge. The solution: make sour cream pancakes instead. In many pancake recipes, the acidity of buttermilk works with baking soda to tenderize and add lift to the batter. But in this Gourmet recipe, editor Lillian Chou deploys a clever buttermilk substitution by mixing equal parts sour cream and milk to achieve a similar effect.

Besides delivering fluffy, slightly tangy pancakes, this recipe goes the extra cultured mile with its accompanying sauce. Simply stir sour cream, maple syrup, and melted butter together in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for a creamy, rich syrup that pairs perfectly with the tender pancakes. If savory pancakes are more your speed, skip the sauce. The sour cream in the batter makes these pancakes a delicious blank canvas for caviar or cured salmon for a decadent weekend brunch—extra dollop of sour cream optional.

This recipe makes enough for four, so we recommend transferring cooked pancakes to a baking sheet in an oven heated to 300°F to keep them warm while you finish cooking.

Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published in the December 2010 issue of ‘Gourmet’ and first appeared online January 11, 2015.