I love pancakes and my favourite are crepes with lemon and sugar. I remember when my Grandma used to make them for me on Pancake Day. We could have as many as we could eat but she would never make them on any other day of the year. This is the first time I have made American pancakes and I have to say they were very easy. I made them for my Grandson who had come over from Chicago for a holiday. I was surprised how well they turned out and they actually looked really professional. I did use a little more oil than stated and added a knob of butter to give them a golden colour.
American and Canadian pancakes (sometimes called hotcakes, griddlecakes, or flapjacks) are usually served at breakfast, in a stack of two or three pancakes topped with real or artificial maple syrup and butter, and often served with sides such as bacon, toast, eggs or sausage. Other popular topping alternatives include jam, peanut butter, nuts, fruit, honey, powdered sugar, whipped cream, cane syrup, and molasses.
The thick batter contains eggs, flour, milk, and a raising agent such as baking powder. The batter can have ingredients such as buttermilk, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, chocolate chips, cheese, or sugar added. Spices such as cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg can also be used. Yogurt may be used to give the pancakes a relatively moist consistency. Pancakes may be ⅓ inch (1 cm) thick and about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter.
Here is the recipe from the Good Food website.
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 egg
- 300ml milk
- knob butter
- 150g pack blueberries
- sunflower oil and/or a little butter for cooking
- golden or maple syrup
- Mix together the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Beat the egg with the milk, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and whisk in the milk to make a thick smooth batter. Beat in the melted butter, and gently stir in half the blueberries.
- Heat a teaspoon of oil or small knob of butter in a large non-stick frying pan. Drop a large tablespoonful of the batter per pancake into the pan to make pancakes about 7.5cm across. Make three or four pancakes at a time. Cook for about 3 minutes over a medium heat until small bubbles appear on the surface of each pancake, then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until golden. Cover with kitchen paper to keep warm while you use up the rest of the batter. Serve with golden syrup and the rest of the blueberries.
Tasty Advice 