It's Pancake Day today. Our Haynes Mens' Cooking Manual shows you how to make them, straight from Route 66.
You may think you know what a pancake is — it’s exactly the same batter as Yorkshire puds, but cooked thinly in a hot frying pan, then flipped. But there’s an American variation. And being American it’s bigger, fluffier, stodgier, and sweeter. Put on your Stetson and get cookin...
Essential items
- Large mixing bowl and whisk
- Smaller bowl or jug
- Small bowl or saucepan
- Frying pan
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 2 thumb-sized lumps of butter
- 1 egg
- 150ml of milk
- 150g of self- raising flour
- 2 tablespoonfuls of sugar
- 1 teaspoonful of baking powder
- A pinch of salt
Method
- Melt half the butter - put it in a bowl in the microwave for 15 seconds, or melt it in a small saucepan over a low heat. Let it cool for a minute or so.
- Beat the egg with a whisk, then whisk in the milk and the melted butter.
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl, then mix in the egg-milk- butter mixture. Mix until it's smooth.
- Put the rest of the butter into a frying pan and heat over a medium heat.
- When the butter’s melted, dump a ladleful of the batter in. Give it two minutes or so, then flip the pancake over and cook the top. You can always flip it back if the first side is a bit pale. As the pan heats up, they’ll cook faster. They should be fairly fluffy and thick, unlike the Euro version.
- Eat with maple syrup and crispy bacon for the true USA flavour. Or put some bIueben'ies or other smallish fruit in with the mixture.
- This works brilliantly as a dessert too, with fruit and/or ice cream — you could try adding a pinch of cinnamon to the mixture if that’s the plan. Or even chocolate chips. Or banana. Or strawberries. Or, er, New York cheesecake pieces, powdered sugar, and strawberry sauce. Which is actually on the menu at one famous American pancake chain.