Buckwheat Pancakes with Apple Jelly ('Rötsch mit Apfelkraut')

Prepare the apple jelly:

In a large pot, combine the apples, cinnamon stick, and water. Bring to a simmer and leave to simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes or until the apples start to disintegrate. Let the apples cool down a little and discard the cinnamon stick. Wrap the apples in a piece of cheesecloth and squeeze out as much juice as possible. It's wise to wear kitchen gloves for this task as the apples can be very hot. If you can't get any more juice out of the apples, unwrap the cheesecloth and briefly loosen the apple pulp with a fork. Wrap the cheesecloth tightly again to extract more juice. Repeat until you can't win any more juice.

Discard the apple pulp and heat the juice in a pot over medium heat to a heavy simmer. Let the apple juice reduced until it is a thick syrup. This can take up to half an hour. While still hot, pour the apple syrup into a small mason jar and seal with a lid. Invert the apple sirup and leave it upside down for at least 2 minutes if you want to make it shelf-stable. Let it cool down to room temperature before serving. You will notice that the syrup will solidify into a spreadable jelly once cool.

Prepare the buckwheat pancakes:

In a blender, combine the buckwheat flour (buckwheat grits), salt, and hot coffee. Leave to soak for half an hour. Add the eggs and water into the blender and blitz until smooth.

Heat a 6-8-inch nonstick saute pan over medium heat and add about a teaspoon of lard. Add about 3-4 bacon pieces and fry them briefly for about 30 seconds to 1 minute until crisp. Pour about 3/4 to 1 soup ladle full of pancake batter into the pan and tilt it to spread out the batter evenly. Don't add too much batter. The pancakes should be only a little thicker than traditional crêpes. Immediately sprinkle a few onion slices on top of your pancake before the batter has had a chance to set. The pancake is ready to flip once all the batter has set. You need to flip the pancake in the air because otherwise, it will tear. As long as you act confident, that shouldn't be much of a problem. Once flipped, you can fry the pancake on the other side for 2-3 minutes or until crisp and browned to your liking. Serve the pancakes immediately together with the apple jelly that can be spread on top of the individual pancakes at the table. It's very common in Germany to eat the pancakes when they come right out of the pan instead of keeping them warm in the oven. The cook then gets to eat the last pancakes which are usually the best ones anyway.