Calling something the best ever is a bold statement. This, however, is the hill on which I am willing to die. We are 2 weeks into lockdown with 5 yr old Moose. He (much like his Mum) is very much led by his stomach so, when he woke up in a bit of a grump on Sunday I knew there was really only 1 thing for it. Pancakes!
Now, usually I would go and buy them. I know, I know, but although I’m a decent cook my Husband would attest that I have a tendency to use every single item in the kitchen. This leaves a whole lot of mess that, frankly, I cannot usually be arsed with.
Obviously at the moment just nipping to the shops is a no go and I am trying REALLY hard to meal plan and stay in budget. This left me with only one option. Make the pancakes (have you met a grumpy 5 yr old? not making them wasn’t the answer here)
I got it into my head that the situation called for big fat fluffy pancakes rather than the thin English (French?) style ones I usually go for. Nope, we needed American style nosh. Luckily I had the ingredients to make them – ish. For toppings I borrowed some sausages from tomorrows dinner and found some strawberries and blueberries which needed eating along with maple syrup and spray cream.
Ingredients
2 eggs
12oz Self raising flour
2tbsp Caster (or whatever) sugar
Big pinch of salt
1tsp Bicarbonate of soda
200ml Buttermilk
400ml Milk
3oz Butter (melted)
Method
First job for me was to make the buttermilk. If you have some then kudos but I use it so rarely it feels like a waste of money to buy it. Besides, it’s really simple to make by mixing 1 tbsp of lemon juice (out of a bottle) with 200ml milk. If you don’t have lemon juice, white vinegar will work too.
Sieve the flour, sugar, salt and bicarb in a bowl together. In a separate jug mix the wet ingredients and pour into bowl of dry ingredients, mixing as you go.
You really don’t need to beat this much, a quick whisk will do to combine it into a fairly smooth batter. Don’t over do it!
Use the best non stick pan you have. On pancake day I bought a pan from a major supermarket who happened to be running a “pancake day bits for a fiver” scheme. It was surprisingly good and since then my husband has been getting the Baskin side eye (if you know, you know) every time he goes to get the pan out for something other than pancakes.
Heat a bit of butter in the pan over a moderate heat and then use a ladle to put the batter in the pan. Big dollops for big pancakes and smaller dollops for smaller pancakes. Turn the pancake over after about a minute. They should be golden brown and fluffy. Don’t feel bad if it takes a bit of practise. Pancakes are like children, the first one is sometimes a bit weird.
I opted to have mine with sausages and maple syrup. The kids love theirs with strawberries and an absolute ton of spray cream. What do you have on yours?
