Buttermilk pancake stack



Lazy Sunday mornings were made for these heavenly light American-style pancakes, which we used to call Scotch pancakes or flapjacks whenI was growing up. Now I know flapjacks are something very different indeed, made with oats and golden syrup and lots and LOTS of butter (a recipe for another time). 

These clouds of joy are so easy – and if you make up a small container (or ziplock bag) of the dry ingredients and keep it in your dry store cupboard, it's ready when the urge overtakes you. The wet mix can then be whisked and the two combined while the frying pan is heating up … job done. 

Pimping your pancakes is personal choice: classic blueberries and maple syrup, crisp strips of streaky bacon or pork sausages, simple summer fruit, peanut butter or chocolate spread with crunchy toasted hazelnuts; the options are endless. 
Most good supermarkets sell buttermilk, but if you can’t find it you can add a teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar to the same quantity of whole milk, or use natural yoghurt instead – the role of the acidic buttermilk is to activate the alkaline raising agent, causing the pancakes to rise to fluffiness in seconds.
Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined it’s best to cook the pancakes quickly as the chemical reaction has a time limit. 

You can halve the recipe for two. 

4 generous servings

Ingredients
350g self-raising flour
5g (1 tsp) bicarbonate of soda
Generous pinch of sea salt
15g (1tbsp) caster sugar
200ml buttermilk
400ml whole milk
5g (1tsp) vanilla paste or extract (optional)
2 medium free-range eggs
60g unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for serving
Neutral vegetable oil for frying.

To serve
Maple syrup,  crispy bacon, fruit, berries, compote or jam, chocolate spread, toasted nuts etc 

You will need
1 mixing bowl
1 1l measuring jug 
Scales 
1 whisk
1 frying pan, preferably non-stick
1 small ladle
1 egg lifter
1 lined baking sheet 

Method
Heat the oven to 120C. 
In a saucepan melt the butter and set aside. 
In a bowl weigh out the dry ingredients. 
In a jug, measure out the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
Put a heavy-bottomed non-stick frying pan on the heat, add a little vegetable oil and use kitchen paper to distribute it evenly and remove the excess. 
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and slow add the wet mix, whisking to combine until you have a smooth, no-lumps mix the consistency of lightly whipped cream. Add the melted butter and whisk again.
Gently ladle the mix into the frying pan one spoon at a time (it will spread), watch as the bubbles rise to the surface  and start to set. Use the egg lifter to flip them over and cook the other side. 
Cook in batches, placing the cooked pancakes on the baking sheet in the warm oven as you go. 
To serve, stack 3 or 4 pancakes on a plate with a knob of butter between each one and put assorted toppings on the table so everyone can help themselves. 


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