The sixth recipe in this series is inspired by Hayley-Jenifer Brennan’s “Under the Mistletoe”. This story takes place in South Korea, where Page is feeling homesick and underappreciated at work. When the undeserving son of the CEO gets chosen for a promotion over her, she feels totally downcast and ready to throw in the towel. But there’s more than meets the eye and a surprise twist makes her question all she knows about her boss…

Hotteok is a winter street food pancake that can be served sweet or savoury, but we imagine Paige would go for the sugary, nutty version as well as some ice cream and chocolate sauce for an extra heap of comfort.

Ingredients for 9 Hotteok 

For the dough:

300g plain flour (this recipe uses caputo gluten free flour)

7g active yeast/6g instant yeast

220ml warm water

30ml whole milk

30g caster sugar

4g salt

20ml sunflower oil

15g butter

For the filling:

1/4 cup caster sugar 

1/4 cup brown sugar 

Mixed spices (cinnamon, nutmeg etc)

Handful walnuts 

Handful pecans 

Extra:

Oil to cook

Flour for rolling

Vanilla icecream to serve 

Chocolate sauce to serve 

Method

1. Activate your yeast by adding the yeast, warm, water milk, and 30 g of sugar into a bowl. Combine, cover with clingfilm and leave for 10 to 15 minutes or until a nice foam covers the top. This can take longer if you’re using active yeast rather than instant yeast.
2. While you’re waiting, melt your butter, and then add in your cooking oil and sat aside.
3. Measure out your flour and add your salt to it.
4. When your yeast has activated, add in your oil and butter, mix, then add in your flour and mix again.
5. Cover the bowl with clingfilm, then leave in a warm place for at least two hours or the dough has doubled in size.
6. To make the filling, add 1/4 cup each of your white and brown sugar. Add some mixed spices, then some chopped nuts of choice. Stir until well combined.
7. When the dough is ready, flour your surface and wet your fingers with some of the oil, to prevent sticking.
8. Take a small amount of the dough, and roll it out into a thin pancake.
9. Take a tablespoon of filling and spread it into the centre of the pancake, then fold the sides of the pancake in to create a parcel.
10. At this point, you can lightly roll the top, so the seams mesh together.
11. Don’t worry about small holes, they won’t affect the pancake when cooking.
12. Place about half an inch of oil into a pan over a medium high heat, and when hot, place your pancakes in seam side down.
13. Do not overcrowd the pan, but you can probably cook 2 to 3 at a time.
14. Fry on each side until golden brown, making sure you press down and flatten the pancakes after the first flip.
15. When the pancakes are Golden Brown, transfer to a wire rack with some paper towels underneath to catch the dripping oil.
16. You can eat, as is, or served with ice cream of choice and some chocolate sauce.
17. You can freeze the pancakes before you cook them, or after you’ve cooked them. If you freeze them once cooked, you can microwave them when ready to eat but they will not be as crunchy as when they are first fried.

We hope you enjoy this recipe of Korean Hotteok