Treated to Pancakes!

 

Its shameful, but my house completely missed pancake day. I was the only one in and making pancakes for one is way too much effort and slightly depressing! So last night we made a dinner party of it. Emma is pancake queen, having perfected the art of American/Scotch pancakes, both savoury and sweet so we enjoyed two sumptuous courses. The first was savoury, with cheese, onion and grilled tomatoes, some salad and hummus to top it off. The second; smoked bacon and maple syrup (match made in heaven!) with greek yoghurt and honey. Both were amazing and just what was needed as an end of the week treat! Here’s the recipe to serve 4-6:

Ingredients

• 135g/4¾oz plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp salt

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 130ml/4½fl oz milk

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking

Method

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.
2. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes (see the bubbles? Be careful not to whisk them away!).
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it’s melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick.
4. Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out the pan.
5. Serve with anything you like but I seriously recommend to combinations mentioned above.

And most of all, have a laugh while you’re cooking them! 🙂