“Just remember it’s a quarter of a pound of flour to half a pint of milk and two eggs”, said my aunty Jenny over the phone.  Plus butter for the pan.  And that’s it, the classic English pancake recipe.  Makes a lacy, beautiful thing.  Mother liked them rolled around home made jam, aunty and grandma used lemon and sugar.  You can find a detailed recipe here

Smaller and puffier than the English ones, American pancakes are the sort you find in Denny’s at breakfast time. I never could manage more than a small stack, with Canadian bacon and maple syrup. 

Amanda

• Ingredients: 225g self raising flour / 220g plain flour plus 2tsp baking powder, sifted together;  275ml creamy milk, 2 eggs, 2Tbsp butter.
• Method: In a small non-stick pan melt 1 Tbsp butter on a medium heat.  Crack two eggs into a bowl and whisk gently.  Sift in 1 Tbsb flour and amalgamate with the eggs, then gradually sift in the remainder of the flour, alternating with milk and stirring all the time.  Hopefully you will end up with a smooth batter.  If not, try leaving for a bit so the flour grains have time to swell in the liquid, then stir vigourously or use a stick blender. Stir in the melted butter.  Leaver the batter to rest for a few minutes.

Using the same pan, melt the rest of the butter and pour it into a cup.  Use this to oil the pan whenever necessary.

Pour enough batter in to make a 10cm diameter pancake. (You might have a spoon or cup which can be used each time to make identically sized discs.) Wait until you can see bubbles forming on the surface, then carefully flip the pancake over using a spatula.  In another minute or two turn it out and make another one.  

In order to have a small stack (four or five) ready at once, either keep them warm or put them all back in the pan together for a moment before serving on a warm plate.

I have garnished these with grilled bananas, apple slices and maple syrup.  If this is too sweet for you, try squeezing lemon juice over the fruit.