gingerbread deep dish apple pancake

a couple saturday mornings ago i woke up wanting to bake something other than scones. while perusing the refrigerator i remembered a couple lonely apples sitting in the crisper and decided to spice up one of my standbys: deep dish apple pancake.

while i may be good with some things in the kitchen - my scones are always light & flaky and even if my layer cakes don't look great, they always taste good - pancakes are not one of them. while i love eating pancakes & i've made them a couple times,  i'm not a huge fan of making them. all the flipping, making sure they're actually cooked all the way through but not burnt, and not having them all done at the same time so some of you eat hot pancakes and others eat cold ones, totally turns me off. which is why this pancake is so great. mix everything up, toss it in a pie plate, bake, and serve yourself a wedge. no flipping, no dirty pans to clean, and everyone gets hot food at the same time. it doesn't hurt that the gingerbread flavor is a nice balance of spice and sweet. it may be my new favorite.

gingerbread deep dish apple pancake
adapted from this deep dish apple pancake
30 minutes, serves 4

2 large or 3 small apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3/4 cup pancake mix
3 eggs
6 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons molasses

1. preheat your oven to 450F.
2. combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, clove, and nutmeg. add half to the apples and mix to coat. set aside the remaining half.
3. coat a round pie plate with nonstick spray. add the apples, cover with plastic wrap (try to wrap it so an end of the plastic sticks out, so you can uncover the dish easier when the apples are cooked), and cook in the microwave on high for 5-6 minutes, until soft. be very careful when removing the plastic wrap from the cooked apples. the steam will be very hot.
4. while the apples are cooking, combing the pancake mix, eggs, milk, and molasses until smooth.
5. when the apples are done, uncover, and add the pancake mix. sprinkle the top with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.
6. bake uncovered for 10 - 12 minutes, or until light brown. let cool in the pan a couple minutes, or the juices from the apples will run when you slice it. serve with warm maple syrup. store leftovers tightly wrapped in the refrigerator.