I have a confession: pancakes are probably my most sacred food. I’ll elaborate: what I mean is that I never ever cook pancakes outside of this time of year: Pancake Day is holy (give or take a week of pancake lovin’ either side of the big day). Pancakes should always be, in my opinion, a Big Deal.
The recipe for pancakes is basic, and you could realistically use any recipe you find online- it’s all bog standard eggs, milk and flour. But for me, Pancake Day is ALL about the topping. Or filling. Whatever floats your pancakey boat. Whether you go for a cheeky savoury choice or for a sweet, classic delight, pancakes are pretty full-proof and always usually delicious.
I’ve chosen to focus on 5 different flavours for this Pancake Day: they’re not too technical and most importantly for us students, they’re not too expensive! (Though, I did get lucky when my parents brought me back traditional pancake syrup and powdered sugar from their trip to Amsterdam last year…) Now, to get down to business. I am offering you 5 different recipes that I have tried and tested (what a hardship that was, all for the sake of journalism), and I hope you find them as simple and as delicious as I have.
The Pancake
Ingredients
Serves 8 pancakes- this is a generous estimate. We got 6 but we’re dead greedy.
8oz of plain flour
4 eggs
600ml of milk mixed with 150ml of water
Fillings of your choice
Method
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, then create a hole in the middle of the flour and crack in the eggs. Whisk with a fork.
- Slowly pour in the liquid mixture- two people is best for this, one pouring whilst the other whisks.
- Keep whisking until it has the consistency of single cream. Get ready with your fillings!
Quick note: do a small tester pancake to make sure the pan is hot enough.
The Classic
The generic, most standard pancake topping going. None the less, super delicious. Lemon and sugar. Simply make the pancake mix from above and when cooked, flipped and put on a plate, fold appropriately and squeeze half a lemon (pre squeezed lemon juice is fine as well) and sprinkle the sugar to finish. I’m using powdered sugar, but really caster, granulated or any kind of sugar will do the trick. Deliciously tasty with minimal effort from you.
6/10
Apple and Cinnamon
A classic combination and it works surprisingly well in pancakes. Fry off 1 apple and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon together in a frying pan. In another frying pan, fry the pancake. When you’ve flipped it, place the apple and cinnamon in the middle of the pancake and fold it in half (so it looks like a pasty.) Fry a little longer and serve.
7/10
Banana Split
Every childhood party consisted of the banana split. Banana chopped in half lengthways, covered with ice cream, sweet strawberry sauce and sprinkles. Now add a pancake and you’re entering dangerously delicious territory. Two scoops of vanilla ice cream (though be free, don’t let me hold you back with your scoops because the ice cream literally makes this), banana laid sexily, literally smother with strawberry (or butterscotch) sauce and sprinkle liberally with hundreds and thousands. Enjoy your nostalgia.
8.5/10
Pigs in Pancakes
This is my personal favourite, the combination of salty bacon and sweet syrup is to die for. So firstly, lightly fry off your rashes of bacon. It still needs to be long, flat and not overly crispy. Place bacon in centre of the pan and cover with batter. Fry as normal. When cooked, take off heat and get ready to embrace the syrup. I’ve used traditional pancake syrup but golden syrup, honey, maple syrup or any sweet syrup will do the trick! Fold in half and try not to eat it all in one go!
8/10
The Hawaiian
The most exotic of these pancakes is the Hawaiian. 200g pineapple fried, 2oz cheese and 1oz ham mixed into the pancake batter and then cooked as normal. In this time, the fried pancake will add sweetness, the cheese will be all melty and gooey and the ham will be crispy. It takes a little longer to cook than the others and much harder to flip but believe me, it’s worth it. Served as it is- or sprinkle cheese over if you like- it really is amazing.
7/10
Harriet Stocker
