Perfect Pancakes

WORDS BY FELICITY CLOAKE

It’s such a shame we only make pancakes once a year in this country – they seem to have been a bit of a favourite in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and no wonder; surviving recipes are laden with egg yolks, cream and sweet wine. These days we tend to favour more austere recipes to use up our eggs before the Lenten fast – although Australian food writer Jill Dupleix makes a brave stab at tradition with her rich, rum-soaked numbers. I prefer a plainer pancake, though – all the better to anoint with lemon juice and scatter with crunchy sugar.

‘‘Treat the first pancake as an experiment; it usually goes wrong, which is an excellent excuse to treat it as a cook’s perk.’’

While Jill and Telegraph writer Xanthe Clay beef up their batter with melted butter, Good Food magazine adds a dash of oil to the mix – the butter is nicer, but I think you can achieve the same effect by cooking them in a buttered pan instead. I do take a tip from the two ladies and use an extra yolk, however, which lends the pancakes a depth of flavour without that slight toughness that egg white imparts. Allowing the batter to stand for 30 minutes, as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall suggests, gives the starch a chance to soak up water, and helps get rid of any air bubbles, both of which improve their texture.

Although Good Food and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall counsel cooking the pancakes over a moderate heat, I prefer to follow Professor Peter Barham, physicist and adviser to Heston Blumenthal, in getting the pan really hot, because I like mine thin and crisp – you can turn it down before cooking if you prefer a softer finish. Spread the batter as thin as possible for delicately lacy edges – and treat the first pancake as an experiment; it usually goes wrong, which is an excellent excuse to treat it as a cook’s perk. These are also good wrapped around a creamy seafood filling, stuffed with spinach and ricotta and gratinated – or slathered with chopped banana and chocolate sauce. Versatile, eh?

Felicity's Pancake Recipe

Makes about 8

125g plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 large free-range egg,
plus 1 large egg yolk
225ml whole or semi-skimmed milk
30g butter, softened

1. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre, and pour the egg and the yolk into it. Mix the milk with 2 tablespoons of cold water and pour a little in with the egg.

2. Use a balloon whisk to whisk the flour into the liquid ingredients, drawing it gradually into the middle until you have a smooth paste the consistency of double cream. Whisk the rest of the milk in until the batter has more of the consistency of single cream. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

3. Heat the butter in a crêpe pan or a 20cm non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat – you only need enough fat to just grease the bottom of the pan. It should be hot enough that the batter sizzles when it hits it.

4. Spread a small ladleful of batter across the bottom of the pan, quickly swirling to coat. Tip any excess away. As it begins to set, loosen the edges with a thin spatula or palette knife, and when it begins to colour on the bottom, flip it over with the same instrument and cook for another 30 seconds. (If you’re feeling cocky, you can also toss the pancake after loosening it: grasp the handle firmly with both hands, then jerk the pan up and slightly towards you.)

5. Pancakes are best eaten as soon as possible, before they go rubbery, but if you’re cooking for a crowd, keep them separate until you’re ready to serve by layering them up between pieces of kitchen roll.

(c) David Loftus

(c) Alastair Levy

(c) David Loftus