Well, nearly. Last year we gave you the American style pillowy ones, and you loved them. This year we’re going for the more refined, delicate little papery thin fellas of my youth – and having canvassed your opinion on Insta in the last couple of days, it seems you all prefer sweet to savoury ones. (Hardly a surprise.) Obviously the very best topping is simply syrup, but I’m hearing whispers of a certain nut based chocolately spread (IYKYK), ice cream of almost any variety, or berries, yoghurt and icing sugar. Whatever your particular poison, here’s my very well tried and trusted recipe. It has never been known to fail, and doesn’t need leaving to stand or anything impossible like that – a counsel of perfection the Irvines have never managed to heed. I wouldn’t say we’re greedy, but the youngest of us currently holds the pancake eating record. I’ll leave it to you to guess how many he wolfed …
INGREDIENTS
- 110g plain flour
- A pinch of good salt
- 2 large eggs
- 200ml of milk mixed with 75ml of water – a fiddle to measure, but worth it
- 2tbps melted butter, plus a bit more for the pan
METHOD
1. Sift the flour and salt into a bowl from high up to give them lots of air
2. Make a well in the middle and break the eggs into it
3. Add the liquids slowly, mixing well and incorporating all the bits of flour from round the edges as you do. Use a balloon whisk or fork – an electric beater sprays everywhere
4. When the batter is smooth and about as thick as single cream, put it in a jug ready to pour or store in the fridge if you’re one of those get-ahead types
5. Just before you cook them, add the melted butter to the mixture and stir it in
6. Put quite a lot more butter (your choice, but if it’s not enough, they’ll stick) in the bottom of a small frying pan and heat it thoroughly – not until it’s smoking, but it must be properly warm
7. Pour enough of the batter in to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, swirling it as you do so in order that the whole of the base is covered
8. Give it just a few seconds and then flip it, or turn it over if you value your décor/flooring
9. Another few seconds and it should be goldeny brown, slightly darker in patches, and firm enough to fold onto a plate.
10. Either lather it in your favourite topping and scarf it right then and there, or cover with a tea towel and keep warm while you cook enough to stack them up.
11. And don’t forget – send us a picture of your brilliance before it’s gone! Enjoy.
