Home Cooking. Rachel Allen

      American buttermilk pancakes

      MAKES ABOUT 12 PANCAKES · VEGETARIAN

       My children and I love making these thick and spongy pancakes (see picture on page 18). The basic recipe is delicious, but the pancakes also taste great with other ingredients added to the batter to flavour them (see the variations opposite). Once cooked and cooled, the pancakes can be kept in the fridge and then warmed through for a few minutes in a hot oven. Spread with a little butter and jam or apple jelly or try one of the toppings suggested below.

      150g (5oz) plain flour

      2 tsp baking powder

      ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda

      50g (2oz) caster sugar

      2 eggs

      150ml (5fl oz) buttermilk or soured milk (see tip on page 24)

      25g (1oz) butter, melted and cooled

      Sunflower oil, for frying

      Icing sugar, for dusting

      1 Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl, then stir in the sugar. Whisk the eggs, buttermilk or soured milk and melted butter together in another bowl, then pour into the dry ingredients, whisking all the time until you have a smooth batter. The batter is now ready to use or may be stored in the fridge overnight.

      2 When you are ready to cook the pancakes, fold your chosen flavouring (if using — see opposite) into the batter. Place a large frying pan on a medium heat and oil it very lightly (I usually pour the oil onto a piece of kitchen paper and rub it on). Working in batches, drop large spoonfuls (about 50ml/2fl oz) of the pancake batter into the pan, spacing them apart to allow for spreading while cooking.

      3 Cook on one side for 1–2 minutes until bubbles appear on the upper surface, then flip over with a fish slice or palette knife and cook on the other side for a further 1–2 minutes until golden brown on both sides. Repeat with any remaining mixture, keeping any cooked pancakes warm in a low oven (cover with foil) as you go.

      4 Serve dredged with icing sugar and your choice of toppings from below.

      Toppings

      * Crème fraîche or Greek or natural yoghurt

      * Slices of mango or strawberry, or pomegranate seeds

      * Honey or maple or golden syrup

      * Chopped nuts, such as pecans, hazelnuts or almonds

      * Pumpkin or sunflower seeds

      * Top with banana slices and toffee sauce (see page 337)

      Variations

      Choose one of the following to fold into the batter once it’s made:

      Banana pancakes: 1 large or 1½ small—medium bananas, mashed (giving 150g/5oz mashed weight)

      Berry pancakes: 75g (3oz) fresh or frozen (and defrosted) berries of your choice

      Chocolate chip pancakes: 75g (3oz) chocolate chips (dark or milk chocolate)

      Dried fruit pancakes: 75g (3oz) dried fruit such as raisins, sultanas, apricots or cranberries (chopped if large)

      Cinnamon pancakes: 1½ tsp ground cinnamon

      Fresh apple muesli

      SERVES 2 · VEGETARIAN

       This delicious wet muesli is so easy to assemble and more nutritious than shop-bought dried muesli. You could use other fruit instead of apples — whatever is to hand.

      4 tbsp oat flakes

      2 eating apples

      1 tsp honey

      1 tbsp single or regular cream (optional)

      1 Measure 3 tablespoons of water into a bowl and sprinkle in the oats. Leave for a few minutes to soak.

      2 In the meantime, coarsely grate the apples with the skin still on and avoiding the core. Stir into the softened oats, along with the honey. Taste, adding a little more honey to sweeten, if necessary. Spoon into bowls and serve immediately, drizzled with cream, if you wish.

      Variations

      Apple and cinnamon muesli: Stir a pinch of cinnamon into the water before adding the oats.

      Raspberry and orange muesli: Substitute the apples with 50g (2oz) crushed raspberries and stir into the oats with the finely grated zest of 1 small orange.

      Apple, blackberry and pecan nut muesli: In addition to the apple, stir 25g (1oz) blackberries into the oats with 2 teaspoons of finely chopped pecan nuts.