Pancake day (or Shrove Tuesday) is one of the most treasured days of the year in our house - Etta loves to get involved and who isn't excited about the prospect of pancakes for dinner?!
As much as I love a stack of fluffy American-style pancakes, there's something so satisfying about thinner crepe-style pancakes drizzled in sugar and lemon, or with lashings of chocolate spread.
Here's my recipe for fool proof pancakes every time. Top tip: gently heat your plates on a low temperature in your oven, and cover your pancakes with foil and a tea towel while you wait for the rest to cook to keep them warm.
We currently have my Wildlife in Spring collection out in force in the kitchen at the moment, and I've found that my
You will need
100g plain flour
2 eggs
300ml semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp sunflower oil or vegetable, plus extra for frying
pinch salt
Method
- Sift 100g plain flour and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, then make a well in the centre and crack 2 eggs into the middle.
- Pour in about 50ml from the 300ml of semi-skimmed milk and 1 tbsp sunflower oil then start whisking from the centre, gradually pulling more of the flour into the eggs, milk and oil. Once all the flour is mixed in, whisk until you have a smooth, thick paste. Add a little more milk if you're finding that it's too stiff to whisk easily.
- Add a good splash of milk and whisk to loosen the thick batter, and continue whisking while pouring in a steady stream of the remaining milk. Keep pouring and whisking until you have a batter that's the consistency of slightly thick single cream. I like to then pour this mixture into my Wildlife in Spring 1 pint jug to make it easy to pour the perfect amount into the pan.
- Heat the pan over a medium to high heat, then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper (careful of your fingers!)
- Pour some batter into the pan, tilting the pan to move the mixture around for a thin and even layer. Quickly pour any excess batter into the mixing jug, return the pan to the heat. You don't want to end up with any under or over cooked patches.
- Leave to cook for about 30 secs and avoid the urge to lift the edges to see if it's cooking properly. If the pan is the right temperature, the pancake should turn golden underneath after about 30 secs and will be ready to turn.
- If you're feeling really brave then you can do this by flipping the pancake, although in our house there's about a 50/50 chance it'll end up on the floor(!), so I tend to do this using a palette knife or spatula. Make sure it lands flat in the pan with no folds, and leave to finish for another 30 secs.
- Finish off your batter, serving as you go or waiting until they're all ready - whichever you fancy.
- Enjoy!
