Quire of Paper

We didn't get to do Pancake Day this year.  We vaguely remembered, late, but Paul wasn't bothered and I was unwell.  Finally we got round to it today - mainly because we'd been in the market for a decent omelette pan for a while, and actually went out today and got one.

This year I'd seen a couple of recipes for old-fashioned (read: 18th century) thin pancakes, including a recipe for Thin Cream Pancakes (otherwise known as the "Quire of Paper") in Mary Norwak's book on English puddings.  I changed the propertions of the book's recipe.... just because, really.  It looked like it might be a bit greasy with the butter, but it didn't seem to have enough egg in it.  The following made about 20 thin pancakes in an 8" omelette pan.

Ingredients
1/4 pint (5 fluid ounces) thick or double cream
1/4 pint milk
2 ounces butter
3 ounces plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons brandy - a bit more wouldn't hurt.
Vanilla sugar (granulated or caster) for sprinkling

Optionally, you could add a little orange juice or grated orange zest for flavouring.
You could use half a pint of single cream instead of the double + milk, but that was what I had.

Method
Melt the butter and allow to cool (though not re-solidify).
Put the milk and cream together in a jug and whisk to mix.
Put the flour in a bowl.  Add the beaten egg and mix.  Whisk in the milk and cream mixture.
Add the zest of an orange if using.
Whisking constantly, pour the butter into the mixture in a thin stream.
Add the brandy and whisk again.  

There's no need to let the batter rest before cooking.

Warm a plate (or individual serving plates).  Sprinkle with a small amount of vanilla sugar.

Pre-heat the omelette pan to a little over medium (say, 4 out of 6) and melt a little butter in it.  Put a small amount (about a tablespoon) of batter in the pan and swirl around to cover the base very thinly (it probably won't reach the edge).  Expect this pancake to fail horribly, but it's soaking up excess fat in the pan and helping stabilise the temperature.  You can eat this mini-pancake if it cooks successfully, but otherwise don't worry too much.  The batter is very rich so you shouldn't need to add any more fat to the pan.

Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and swirl around to thinly coat the base. (This was fairly easy for me as I've got a mini ladle holding that amount; failing that, use a 1/4 cup measure but don't fill it to the top - 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons, or 60ml.)

Leave it.  Don't touch it.  The edges will start to dry rapidly and start to curl up like paper.  Wait until the surface sets, then the pancake will appear to "sweat".  When this happens, run a thin spatula round the edge of the pancake and loosen it from the pan.  If the pancake starts to bubble before the surface dries, the pan is too hot.  Turn down the heat a notch and/or remove the pan from the heat.  It's no biggie, just be aware the pancake will colour faster.

When the pancake can be shaken easily around the pan, use the spatula to gently flip it over.  It won't take long on the other side.  When it can be shaken easily in the pan again, gently transfer to the plate.  Get the next pancake on the go, and while it is setting, sprinkle a little sugar over the previous pancake, now on the plate.

Repeat in this fashion, piling up a stack of pancakes, sprinkling a little sugar in between each one.  Depending on how long you cook them, they will look either like paper or parchment, complete with crackly, curly bits round the edges.

According to Mary Norwak, the original had over a pint of cream and 9 eggs in it, as well as more butter, but the same amount of flour.  That would make an incredibly thin batter; this version is rich (but not overly so) and not too difficult to work - though I wouldn't try tossing these pancakes.  Take care when you turn them as they do have a tendency to flop about.