Upside-Down Apple Pancake (Le Sanciau)

This rustic-looking upside-down apple pancake called Le Sanciau in French is a popular Berry dessert. It is made with a few ingredients and flavored with rum within 25 minutes from start to finish.

Here is a new French dessert to your recipe collection! It is easy and quick to make; it is a type of crepe typically stuffed with delicious apples.

You can never go wrong with making easy and quick crepes and pancakes.

Make a batter one day ahead for a Dutch Baby, or whip it up early in the morning for this French apple pancake and delight your family with a fabulous breakfast.

What is Sanciau?

Sanciau (les Sanciaux in plural) is a typical thick pancake made with flour, milk, eggs, and sliced ​​apples cooked in butter. It is traditionally served for Candlemas all over France.

This pancake is called Sanciau du Berry and is a specialty of Berry, a region in central France.

It is also called Chanciau as "flour omelette" or Crêpiau from the word "crepe."

Le Sanciaux resembles another thick apple pancake called Matafaim, a specialty of Saône-et-Loire in France.

Historically, Sanciaux was served to the day laborers in the morning, after the soup, as an economical dish in the Berry farms.

It was also made on the first Sunday of Lent (feast of the Brandons, or fête des Brandons in French) or Mardi Gras. 

Over time, this apple upside-down pancake has become “four hours,” meaning a snack in the middle of the afternoon for the French.

The apple pancake's texture is something intermediate between a pancake and a custard Far Breton.

Why you should try this recipe

This apple upside-down pancake recipe is handy once you need to make a dessert with unexpected guests. It will surely impress them with its creative presentation.

It is one of those crepe recipes that you can whip up in a jiffy. It is cooked on the stovetop and then simply inverted onto a crepe pan to get those perfect golden brown edges.

When you want something sweet for breakfast, this is the perfect pancake.

It is also so good if you are craving some fried dough with apples dipped in sugar.

The recipe is a great way to use up apples that are starting to get too ripe; it calls for a few common and inexpensive ingredients.

Ingredients

Here is a quick overview of what ingredients you will need. Follow the full recipe below for exact amounts and instructions. I recommend making the recipe as written for the best results.

Apples: use apples holding their shape while cooking, such as Reine de Reinette, Golden Delicious, Gala. You can easily experiment with other types of apples or even pears.

Flour: the recipe calls for all-purpose flour.

Milk: se whole or low-fat milk.

Egg: you will need one large whole egg at room temperature.

Salt: a pinch of salt enhances the flavor of the pancake batter.

Butter: use unsalted butter to make this recipe.

Rum: replace it with pear liqueur or Calvados or omit this ingredient to make the pancake kid-friendly.

How to make upside-down apple pancake

To make the batter, sift all-purpose flour with a flour sifter and set it aside.

Mix flour, milk, egg, and salt in a medium-sized bowl with a hand whisk until well-combined (photo 1).

Peel apples with a vegetable peeler, core them, and slice apples into thin slices (photo 2).

Melt butter in a crepe pan over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted, add the apple slices to the pan.

Brown apples until golden on both sides for a few minutes. Pour rum and mix (photo 3).

Arrange apples evenly over the bottom of the crepe pan. If desired, place them in a pattern you like.

Pour the pancake batter over apple slices into the pan. Cook for about 7 to 8 minutes over low heat.

Place a plate on the pan and, using mittens, turn the pancake onto the plate.

Slide the uncooked side of the pancake onto the crepe pan and cook for about 3  to 4 minutes (photo 4).

Arrange the pancake on a serving dish. Pour honey on top, cut the Sanciaux like a pie and serve immediately.

Recipe variations

The most common apples used to make this apple pancake in France are Reine des Reinettes from Saint-Martin-d'Auxigny, but you are free to experiment.

The green apples are a perfect pairing for this apple pancake, so if you want to eliminate some sweetness, go with the Smith variety.

If you look for something even more unique and flavorful than an ordinary apple pancake breakfast treat - go ahead and use pears.

Interestingly, the French add a dash of local apple-pear liqueur while cooking apples and let them flambé. It is the same technique used to make crepes Suzette.

Use a collection of flavors to flavor the pancake batter. Try adding brandy, cognac, or orange liquor for some extra flavor depth.

The skillet pancake is eaten hot, sliced like a pie, and topped with Sologne honey or sprinkled with caster, vanilla, or icing sugar.

You can also dress it up with crème fraîche, sour cream, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream.

Storing and freezing

Store this pancake covered with plastic in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days. It is not recommended freezing the pancake.

Expert tips

1. Replace rum with pear liqueur or Calvados and flambe if you desire. Omit the alcohol to make the dessert kid-friendly.
2. Sprinkle the pancake with icing (powdered) sugar or vanilla sugar instead of serving with honey.
3. For wine lovers, serve Le Sanciau with a glass of Sancerre white wine.

Frequently asked question

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The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.