I have been craving pancakes for a week and now that it’s Sunday and we had no plans, I had a nap in the afternoon (when else would you have a day time nap 😜) and then woke up and made the pancake batter.
I have to say that my pancakes are not crepes. I don’t make them super thin, they’re more like a thinned out flapjack batter that makes gorgeous golden pancakes.
I’ve also gotten to a point where I don’t really measure anything. I know what consistency I want and keep adding milk and oil until I’m happy that it’s runny enough. The difference between the pancake and flapjack batter is that the flapjacks have less eggs, I add a teaspoon of baking powder, and less milk. It’s a sticky pourable batter that puffs up quickly when added to the pan.
The pancake batter is runnier, has more eggs and milk and no baking powder. You don’t want much of a rise from pancakes, whereas flapjacks are great when they’re thicker and spongier.
Pancake Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups Self Raising Flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 ½ to 2 Cups milk
½ cup oil
Method
Add the flour, eggs, salt, milk and oil to a large mixing bowl. Mix well! The batter must be smooth and lump-free.
If the batter seems too thick and stretchy then slowly add small amount of milk and oil equally, mixing each time until the batter is easily pourable. It should spread easily when poured into the pan.
Prepare your pan with nonstick cooking spray - I find this is better than oil, but you can also use a very thin layer of oil to coat your pan.
Heat the pan and then pour the batter into the Center of the pan then hold the handle and twist the pan allowing the batter to coat the entire bottom of the pan.
Keep the heat on medium low! The pancake should only take about a minute get beautifully golden. The bubbles will start to come to the surface and pop and the. Edge will begin to slightly lift and get slightly golden. Then it’s time to flip the pancake! The other side only needs about 10-15 seconds to cook and you’re done!
I made quite a lot of batter and got 13 pancakes. The regular recipe should yield about 8-10 pancakes depending on how much batter you use per pancake and the size of the pan.
Toppings
As we were having the pancakes for dinner and dessert I had savoury and sweet options for the family to choose from.
Savoury
First I made a simple savoury mince using minced beef, herbs and spices and half a jar of tomato pasta sauce. It’s quick and easy and a good protein that everyone enjoys.
My husband and son always add grated cheddar or Gouda cheese over the top. And we roll our pancakes up to eat them easily.
Sweet
I made an wonderful Apple & Cinnamon Jam on Friday and I knew it would be fantastic on pancakes. The idea was to have the Apple & Cinnamon jam together with a good dollop of Smooth Cream Cheese (or smooth plain cottage cheese). Unfortunately the store was closed by the time I got there.
The cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the jam and added a gorgeous creamy flavour. It’s absolutely worth trying!
But for tonight it was plain Apple & Cinnamon Jam that tasted like apple pie in a pancake. The jam cooked perfectly and was both chunky and firm with the perfect balance of Apple and cinnamon.
I’ll post the jam recipe later this week so watch this space.
Our family is always on the lookout for pancakes when we are out and about, but homemade always seems to be the best.
Happy and satisfied customers 😊
