How To Make the Fluffiest Blueberry Pancakes

Step 1

Add the blueberries and 1/2 cup (100g) of sugar to a bowl and toss the blueberries around in the sugar to coat. If you're using frozen blueberries, more sugar will stick to them as they begin to defrost. If using fresh blueberries, rinse and drain thoroughly in the sink, then toss them in the sugar. Their dampness will help the sugar stick to them.

Step 2

Add the remaining 1/2 cup (100g) of the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom to a large bowl and stir with a wire whisk to combine.

Step 3

Stir the vanilla and almond extract into the 6 tablespoon (85g/ 3oz) melted butter. (Fat helps to evenly distribute the flavor of the extracts.)

Step 4

Add the eggs to the buttermilk and whisk briefly with a fork to combine.

Step 5

Add about 1 tablespoon (14.2g) of butter to a skillet and set it over medium heat.

Step 6

While the skillet heats, pour the butter and buttermilk mixtures into the dry ingredients and whisk just until the batter is mostly smooth. It's fine if there are a few lumps, but be careful to not over beat the batter.

Step 7

Swirl the melted butter around in the pan so that the bottom is completely coated. Pour about 1/3 cup of batter into the pan per pancake. Cook no more than 2 or 3 pancakes at a time. The batter will be very thick, but will spread out a bit as the pancakes cook, so be very careful to not overcrowd the pan. Dot the surface of each pancake with a generous amount of blueberries.

Step 8

As the pancakes cook, lower the temperature to medium low. The goal is to regulate the temperature so that the middle of the pancakes have time to cook before the outsides are overcooked or burned. If it looks like the outside of your pancakes are cooking faster than the inside, lower the heat.

Step 9

Cook the pancakes on one side until the sides of the pancake are firm up enough to not fall apart when you flip them. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown on the other side. These are fluffy pancakes, so it can be tricky to know if they are done in the middle. Press gently on the center of a pancake to see if it feels doughy. You can also take a sharp paring knife and cut into the center of a pancake to see if there's any raw batter in there.

Step 10

Use a spatula to remove the pancakes from the pan. Rinse out the pan (or wipe it down with a paper towel). Add about 1 tablespoon of fresh butter and repeat the process to cook the remaining pancakes.