Easy Pancakes
The must-have recipe for any budding cook. This super easy recipe for pancakes mixes the usual ingredients, ready to be finished with your favourite toppings.
Introduction
This recipe was originally a third smaller in quantity but I could not believe how many pancakes my children ate in one sitting so I upped the size. Izaac ate six and Eve ate four, and so I was forced to make another half batch so the grown-ups could at least try some. And that was after they had told me they were full up after dinner, thus confirming my belief that children (and some adults) have an entirely separate ‘pudding tummy’, where there is generally room for a little pudding even when you are stuffed to the gunnels.
Before you begin, a quiet word about the first pancake. In my experience it almost always fails, so do not be disappointed if this happens to you. That seems to be the law of pancake-making, and I’m afraid I cannot offer you any solutions. Better just to accept it, safe in the knowledge that the second one will be better. I did make a concerted effort to flip my pancakes but admitted defeat after the first few near disasters, including a close shave involving the dog who was circling the kitchen like a hopeful black shark.
Ingredients
| 170g | plain flour |
| A pinch of fine salt | |
| 3 | eggs |
| 400ml | milk |
| 40g | butter, melted |
| A little unsalted butter or vegetable oil for cooking the pancakes | |
| To serve: | |
| Lemon wedges and caster sugar | |
| Maple syrup | |
| Jam or chocolate spread |
Method
Weigh the flour into a large mixing bowl and stir the salt into it. Make a well in the middle and crack in the eggs. Using a whisk, beat together to form a thick, and most likely lumpy, paste. Gradually pour in the milk, whisking vigorously until the lumps have gone and you are left with a smooth and fairly runny batter.Set aside to rest for 15 minutes or so. When you are ready to cook, whisk through the melted butter. Heat a little butter or vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan until hot. Pour in a couple of tablespoons of batter, tipping the pan from side to side to spread the pancake out into a thin even layer.
Cook for just a minute, then flip over and cook the other side for another 30 seconds or so. Slide on to a warm plate and repeat with the rest of the mixture. Serve the pancakes with the filling of your choice. For me it has to be lemon and sugar, but jam, chocolate spread and maple syrup are all popular in our house.
