to ask how you actually make delicious pancakes? --It is a completely mysetery to me.--

[mameulah]

Another morning of trying to do good Mummy deeds and another batch of decidedly unappetising pancakes.

I have tried hundreds a few recipes and experimented with the temperature on the hob but they always just look wrong.

I get on better with the crepe type, but the Scotch pancakes are a complete mystery. Please tell me your trick of the trade.

Aunt Jemima does an American pancake and waffle mix which does lovely fluffy pancakes everytime, I add blueberries to the pancakes while cooking, makes taste yummier and healthy right?

Dropped pancakes the way to go, so easy!

Google Bill Grainger's Ricotta pancakes.

Jamie Oliver does a great American style pancake recipe - really easy as its just cups - cup of milk, cup of flour, egg.

My tip is to melt butter in the pan then tip it in the mix and stir. Then put MORE butter in the pan before making your pancake. I ad blueberries and eat with syrup. YUM.

Here's how I do them:

Put a heavy cast iron pan on the hob at about a 5 (this is the only recipe that is easier on an electric hob).

Melt 2 tbsp butter (I use salted) in a bowl in the microwave. You want it not to be really hot - say 30 seconds on high and then stir until any unmelted bits have melted.

In a largeish mixing bowl mix 1 cup flour, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp bicarb.

In a jug mix either half a cup of milk and half a cup of buttermilk, or 2/3 cup milk and 1/3 cup yoghurt. If these ingredients are fridge-cold, microwave them for 30-40 seconds just to take the chill off (not so that it's more than tepid when you dip your finger in).

Separate an egg. Mix the white in with the jug of milk and yoghurt. Beat the yolk into the melted butter.

Scrape the melted butter/ yolk into the jug of milk and mix thoroughly.

Dump the wet ingredients in the dry. Stir until incorporated but not until absolutely smooth - it should look a bit like porridge.

Smear a thin layer of oil into the pan (I pour some in then wipe the excess out with kitchen paper). Fry the pancakes a quarter cup at a time. Do the first side until the top starts popping bubbles, then flip and do for another minute or so. Keep an eye on the temperature of the pan and turn it up or down. Re-oil the pan if it looks dry. Keep the finished pancakes in the oven on 100 degrees until done.

This recipe makes 7-8 pancakes and is the best one I've tried.

I always use lard for frying pancakes. Butter burns before you reach the ideal temperature, which is hot, hot, hot - that's for the thin, crepey ones. And leave the batter to rest for 15 mins or so before using.

I find that real maple syrup is too runny and just soaks into the pancake making them soggy, so I use the Askeys Ice cream topping sauce in maple flavour or the Lyles maple flavour golden syrup if they have it - much thicker and gooier and it even tastes more maple-y than the real thing.

Yes, they don't use real maple syrup in American restaurants, they use flavoured corn syrup. I really like maple but golden is good too.

Use buttermilk and if you can get it soda bread flour. Then make sure you use a good pan and you don't need any butter in the pan if it is a good non stick pan,in fact I find the butter in the pan just discolours the pancakes and can affect their 'fluffiness'. I only ever make 'scotch pancakes' or 'dropped scones' as over here those are just pancakes,the other kind I always thought of more as crepes butI am wondering now whether there is an English in between pancake that I have never heard of?

1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Easy

Pancakes, 125g self raising flour, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, 1 medium egg, 150mls milk. I put a little vanilla essence in too a few drops

Also still in UK here and my grannies and great grannies both used buttermilk,would be a pretty common ingredient here -not Scotland,not England, still UK,and definitely not American.

(I know my recipe might look a bit elaborate but trust me when I say it's the bomb pancakewise )

Aunt Jemima's is amazing, perfect pancakes everytime. You can buy it from Ocado.

I'd never come across the American-style ones over here until people started going to the U.S.A. on holiday. The ones I had as a child were definitely crepe-like. Probably a bit thicker, because proper crepes are difficult to make and should be thin enough to read love letters through, but taking up the whole pan and as thin as possible.

There were dropped scones but I thought of them as regional, usually Scottish. You needed a griddle, which was not usually found in the S.E. London kitchens of my childhood. We didn't have buttermilk either.

Golden syrup and butter on drop scones, delicious :) Maple syrup on American pancakes, very good (cheap restaurants in the US/Canada replace maple syrup with flavoured corn syrup because it's much cheaper, not because it tastes in any way as good). Lemon juice and sugar on English pancakes also lovely.

For real crepes you need a different sort of flour to get them thin and lacey. My recipe book suggests buckwheat.

I lurked on this thread at the weekend, and want to thank you!

I had a 'bought because it was mentioned on MN' moment and chucked Aunt Jemima into my Ocado order. I've just made my first ever batch, and they are indeed foolproof. DD very happy to have them for tea!