British Pancakes
This is a classic pancake recipe, making a thin, crepe-style pancake. These are with all the ingredients you’d expect: plain flour, eggs, milk, a little butter, and a little sugar, with no baking powder!
Servings: 6 pancakes
Ingredients
- 110 g plain flour
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 280 ml 1/2 pint milk
- extra butter for greasing the pan
Instructions
- Simply mix together the flour, sugar and salt. Make a well in the centre and crack in your eggs. Add the melted butter. Add the milk and whisk well to bring it all together. Or add all ingredient to a blender and blitz together. I always use a blender as I find that the only way to really get it totally smooth.
- Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat and then grease with butter using a scrunched-up bit of kitchen paper. I use a ladle to get the right amount of batter in the pan, but this is a bit of trial and error. Remember that the first pancake never turns out right – it’s a scientific fact, so don’t stress and then just enjoy it as a chef’s perk.
- Cook for 30 seconds or so without touching it, then loosen the edges and flip! Cook for another 30 seconds or so until it's a lovely colour and then slide onto a plate.
- If you want to do these ahead of the game, just stack them up using a little greaseproof paper between each pancake to stop them sticking and then they reheat well in a low oven.
Notes
To store: Cool and transfer to a plate with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each one. Then clingfilm tightly and place in the fridge for 2 days.
To reheat: Any leftover crepes can be reheated in a pan over medium-low heat. Flip over once until heated through, it shouldn’t take more than a minute or so. Otherwise, heat in the microwave in 20 second bursts until hot.
To freeze: Cool then stack up with sheets of greaseproof paper in between each crepe. Then clingfilm the whole thing tightly and place in a freezer bag (or wrap with a final layer of foil).Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make ahead: You can store crepe batter in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container. But I would use it in the first 24 hours when it’s at its best. You can also freeze crepe batter for up to 2 months. When ready to use, defrost overnight until it’s liquid and then give it a good whisk to bring it together.
Using a blender: you can be team blender or team elbow grease - both work well! Blender makes it super smooth and makes it super easy. But elbow grease with a whisk is also a good technique too. The trick is that once the dry ingredients are in the bowl, add the eggs and whisk really well until as smooth as possible. Then add the milk, only once it’s as smooth as possible. That gives you the best chance of getting rid of lumps.
Non-stick pan: I would really recommend using a non-stick pan here as it means you avoid any sticking mishaps.
When to flip: After 30-60 seconds, the edges should slightly curl up. Once they do that, that means they are ready to flip. The edges will be darker and slightly loosened.