Time: 20 minutes for the accoutrements; 10 minutes to make the batter, 10 minutes to cook the cakes.

There is something about these pancakes that evokes the experience of eating a delicately iced, very fresh slice of buckwheat cake. Perhaps it is the fine, crispy top and bottom surfaces that give way to bright, swirling fruit and mineral flavors in their creamy crumb—and the occasional, pleasing pinpoint tang of mellow bitter-sweetness from small particles of whole buckwheat hull. Perhaps it is the lemon butter sliding luxuriously between, as lilting as an icing on the tongue, or the blueberry compote, supple and jellied, overhead. Whatever the case, these pancakes triple in flavor and satisfaction their commitment in time: light and lacy, deep and rich, dripping with elegance.

And the buttermilk? The iconic American ingredient central to our notion of what makes quick breads and griddle cakes light and irresistible, what makes layer cakes meltingly tender, what gives a fried chicken crust an extra-special crispness? That ingredient, which, for years has been brought to us in the form of skim milk jacked up with lactic acid bacteria (or the powder everyone tried to say was great for baking), well, real buttermilk has made a limited return engagement. Kate’s Butter of Maine now produces real buttermilk, as do a handful of small artisan producers. Seek, and you shall find (View Photo. Click on photo to close.).

Ingredients
For the lemon butter:
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
7 tablespoons (1.5 ounces) sifted confectioner's sugar
Pinch fine sea salt
Finely grated peel of 1 lemon (about 1 packed tablespoon), plus 1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice

For the blueberry compote:
1½ pints fresh blueberries
Pinch fine sea salt
Scant ½ cup (3.3 ounces) granulated sugar
½ small cinnamon stick
Juice of one lemon

For the batter:
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
4 ounces (¾ cup) Anson Mills Rustic Aromatic Buckwheat Flour
3.5 ounces (about ¾ cup) Anson Mills Fine Cloth-Bolted Pastry Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg

Directions
1. Make the lemon butter: Using a hand mixer, beat the butter in a small bowl until it is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioner?s sugar and salt and continue beating until smooth and even fluffier, 1 minute. Beat in the lemon juice and peel. Spoon the butter onto a strip of plastic wrap or parchment paper and roll it into a log about 6 inches long by 1 inch in diameter. Twist the ends to secure. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2. Make the blueberry compote: Turn one pint of blueberries into a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan with the sugar, salt, lemon juice, and cinnamon stick, and set over medium-low heat. Stir frequently as the blueberries begin to sizzle softly and melt. They will quickly begin to release their juices and cease sticking. Bring them to a simmer and simmer until soft and saucy, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining blueberries and heat until the whole berries are warm in the center and yielding, but before they burst, 2 minutes or so. Remove from the stove. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. Warm slightly just before serving.

3. Make the batter: Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove it from the heat, tilt the pan and part the surface foam with a spoon. Spoon off 2 teaspoons of clear yellow butterfat and transfer it to a small bowl. Set aside. Pour the buttermilk into the saucepan with the remaining butter to warm it slightly. Set a well-seasoned 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat to become hot while you finish making the batter. The skillet is hot enough when drops of water dropped onto its surface sizzle, about 10 minutes.

4. Turn the flours, baking powder, soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

5. Whisk the egg in a medium mixing bowl. Add the warm butter and buttermilk mixture, and whisk well to combine.

6. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry all at once, and whisk lightly to combine.

7. Dip a heatproof basting brush in the reserved butter, and brush it across the surface of the hot skillet. Drop pancakes one at a time into the pan with a small ladle or ¼-cup measur—there will be room for 4 pancakes. (If the batter becomes too thick over the coarse of making the pancakes you may thin it with a little milk.) When the pancakes are nicely browned on the bottom and have begun to bubble on the top, 2 to 3 minutes, flip the cakes and brown the other sides, one or 2 minutes longer. Take them from the skillet, re-grease the skillet, and cook the next batch of pancakes. Serve the pancakes hot off the griddle with lemon butter and blueberry compote as we suggest—or a good old-fashioned dose of warm maple syrup.

Makes about 18 3-inch pancakes