Pancakes are a simple but perfect weekend breakfast treat.
They might be a bit too much effort for a busy weekday morning, with work and school to prepare for, but on weekends, my two young children absolutely love being served up pancakes for breakfast and always get excited when I say I’m going to make them.
Not so long ago, pancakes were a bit of a mystery to me. I’d never made them before and thought they were best left alone to street food vendors in their mobile crèpe vans or to those with a lot more experience of home-cooking.
So I was delighted when I finally took the plunge and found out how to make them — I couldn’t have been happier with how simple they turned out to be to make, and how delicious they tasted.
My children usually have theirs with Nutella spread across the inside before being folded up neatly into a long cylinder shape easy to cut up into bitesize pieces. I will usually serve them topped with raspberries and blueberries.
But the joy of these pancakes is that they can be served with so many different fillings and toppings, which can be both savoury and sweet.
So if you don’t fancy a sweetness overload from Nutella, you can fill them with bananas and honey or maple syrup, or go with the classic sugar and lemon juice.
For savoury options, go with grated and melted cheese (a cheddar would be fine) with some ham or even crispy bacon. For a healthier option, you could try spinach and ricotta or mozzarella.
The beauty of making pancakes yourself at home is you can be sure they’re made with simple, natural ingredients and are free of the ultra-processed ingredients that you’d likely find in shop-bought pancakes or pre-made pancake mix. You can read about the dangers of ultra-processed food here.
Here’s how to make quick and simple pancakes, following the 1-2-3 rule. For more extravagant, fluffier pancakes, check this recipe.
Ingredients
- 100g plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml semi-skimmed milk
Method
1. Put the flour into a bowl or jug (I use a jug) and crack in the eggs and a dash of the milk.
2. Whisk together until you have a smoot thick paste. I use a hand-held electric whisk for this which gets the job done in no time, but a normal whisk utensil from the drawer would work fine too.
3. Pour in the rest of the milk, whisking as you go. You should end up with a much thinner batter that’s about the consistency of single cream.
4. Heat a frying pan over a moderate heat, add cooking oil or butter, and make sure the pan is coated (use kitchen paper or a spray oil).
5. Ladle or pour some batter in — stop when it’s about the size of a CD then start tilting the pan around to spread out the batter as thinly as you can.
6. Cook for around 30 seconds — you should be able to see it going golden underneath.
7. At this stage it should come away from the pan easily, enabling you to flip it over, with the aid of a palette knife or a simple spatula. Fry for another 30 seconds.
8. Tip from the pan on to a plate and serve with your topping of choice.
