Perfect Pancakes

OK, so Shrove Tuesday was last week but in my mind any excuse to eat pancakes is a good one. Sweet, savoury, or that very decadent combination of both (hello bacon and maple syrup!), pancakes are the perfect flavour-absorbing vehicle.

Simply decide what mood you’re in, take stock of your fridge contents and it’s happy days. Here’s a great base recipe, and a few ways to misuse it. Pancakes are a great way to get kids cooking and a simple pleasure to cure weekend hangovers.

Perfect pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup plain flour
1 large egg
1 ½ cups milk
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 generous pinch of sea salt

Method

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder together into a mixing bowl. Add the pinch of salt and stir through gently. Whisk the egg, mix it with the milk and gradually whisk it into the sifted flour mixture until combined.

When ready to cook, add a small knob of butter to a non-stick pan on medium/high heat and pour in a ladle of mixture. Once the pancake bubbles evenly, use a spatula or fish slice to gently unstick the pancake from the pan and flip it (bonus points if you manage to successfully flip it without a spatula). You’re looking for a nice even golden colour on both sides.

 

Flavours to add into pancakes

Grated zucchini, ricotta and Parmesan
Finely diced ham and Gruyere
Frozen berries
Finely diced mushrooms, parsley and corn

Toppings that rock

Maple syrup, crisp bacon and pan-fried banana halves
Fresh berries and freshly whipped vanilla cream
Lemon juice and caster sugar