Pancake MAKING
It is Pancake Day on Tuesday 16th February! In this post there are three great pancake recipes - my favourite is number three! You can have them for breakfast or dessert. Enjoy.
Recipe 1 - Souffle pancakes
Japanese soufflé pancakes inspired from Junior Bake Off! We so loved watching this on the tv and when we saw their technical baking task of Japanese souffle pancakes we had to try them even though they were a bit tricky!
Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 ½ Tbsp whole milk
¼ tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ cup self raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp caster sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
Water (for steaming)
Method
Separate the egg whites and egg yolks into two different bowls. Add milk and vanilla to the egg yolks and whisk until thick and frothy.
Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl with the egg yolk mix. Whisk to combine thoroughly, do not overmix.
Now start beating egg whites. When the egg whites turn frothy and pale white, gradually add in sugar (roughly ⅓ at a time). Continue to whip the egg whites.
The egg whites will become glossier and firmer like a meringue. Stop when the egg whites stand right up with stiff peaks and don’t drop from the whisk.
Take ⅓ of egg whites and add to the egg yolk mixture. Whisk together (don’t worry too much about breaking air bubbles at this step). Next, take half of the egg whites and add to the egg yolk mixture. Using a whisk or spatula, gently fold in without breaking the air bubbles in the egg whites.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan that has a lid (we didn’t have one so improvised with a saucepan lid on a frying pan!) over the lowest heat. Brush with cooking oil and lightly remove any visible oil (otherwise the pancakes will have a spotty pattern).
If you have any ring moulds or other shapes – they used a cat mould in junior bake off! – use them in the frying pan or don’t worry, and just place the mixture straight in the pan.
Each pancake gets roughly 4 scoops of batter, so that’s a total of 12 scoops for the 3 pancakes. Now, scoop the batter and place on the frying pan. If you are using a mould then pile the batter all in at once, if you don’t have one then pile each scoop on slowly, after the first one is slightly cooked and it will help you keep it tall.
Next, set a timer for 6-7 minutes, add 2 Tbsp water in 3 empty spaces inside the pan and cover with the lid. Water keeps the pancake moist.
After 6-7 minutes passed, using a spatula or palate knife, lift the pancake VERY GENTLY. If you feel the pancake is stuck, don’t touch until they firm up a little. If you force it, the pancake will crack in the middle. When the pancake is ready, you can easily move the pancake. Ours were super puffy at this point but sunk a bit after we flipped so do it as quickly as you can.
Add more water in empty spaces and set a timer for 4 to 5 minutes to cook the other side on the lowest heat.
Once they are nicely browned, transfer the pancakes to your serving plates.
Place fresh cream on the pancakes and top with berries. Dust the pancake with icing sugar and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!
\ Recipe two American pancakes
We love making these, sometimes for breakfast and sometimes for pudding with maple syrup and cinnamon or chocolate spread and berries! My Mummy prefers not to have gluten or too much dairy so we make these with GF flours and dairy free milk and they work brilliantly. I actually hate bananas but when they are mashed into this recipe they just make it taste sweeter and you can’t taste the banana. We like to cook them in our animal face pancake pan to make it extra fun and my brother always has the elephant as it is his favourite animal.
Ingredients
350g self raising flour or we use a mix of gluten free flours as my Mummy prefers it, so buckwheat, GF self raising and rice flours.
1 or 2 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250ml milk or oat or organic soya milk which we often use
Butter or oil for frying
Method
Sieve the flour into a large bowl. In a separate mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until smooth, then whisk in the eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, tip in the wet ingredients and swiftly whisk together to create a smooth, silky batter.
Heat a little knob of butter or spray some oil in a large non-stick pan over a medium heat. Add 2-3 tbsp of the batter per pancake to the pan and cook for several minutes, or until small bubbles start appearing on the surface. Flip the pancake over and cook for 1-2 mins on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter, keeping the pancakes warm in a low oven.
NOTE: If you want super fluffy pancakes we separate the eggs and only add the yolk in with the milk and banana mix and then whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff peaks appear. Then fold that into the rest of the combined mixture before cooking. ENJOY!
Recipe 3 - Traditional crepe style pancakes
These are my absolute favourite, I usually have them every Saturday morning for my breakfast! I love them with maple syrup and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Delicious!
Ingredients
100g plain flour (we sometimes substitute plain flour or gluten free flour and buckwheat / almond)
2 eggs
300ml milk (or plant based milk)
Sunflower oil for frying the pancakes and 1 tbsp for the mix (optional)
Method
Put the plain flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack the eggs in, add the tablespoon of oil if using.
Pour in the milk a little at a time and start whisking from the centre, gradually pulling the flour into the eggs, milk and oil. Keep adding the milk whilst you whisk and once all the milk is added in, beat until you have a smooth, thick batter. Add a little more milk if it is too stiff to beat. It should be the constituency of pouring cream.
Heat your pancake pan over a moderate heat, then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper.
Ladle some batter into the pan, tilting the pan to move the mixture around for a thin and even layer.
Leave to cook for about 30 secs. If the pan is the right temperature, the pancake should turn golden underneath after about 30 secs and will be ready to turn.
Hold the pan handle, ease a palette knife or spatula under the pancake, then quickly lift and flip it over. Make sure the pancake is lying flat against the base of the pan with no folds, then cook for another 30 secs before turning out onto a warm plate.
Tuck in!