One of my most vivid food memories from growing up is my mum dishing up a constant stream of pancakes for my sister and I at teatime on Shrove Tuesday. She had 2 small frying pans on the go and we would eat them as fast as she could make them, squeezing lemon (or occasionally orange) over them, sprinkling with sugar and rolling them up.
I still always make pancakes on Shrove Tuesday.
The recipe my mum used came from a little book published by a flour brand called Be-Ro. A few years ago, she managed to track down an updated version and gave one to my sister and I as a present. I often consult it, especially when it comes to traditional British recipes. This time, I decided to taste-test the Be-Ro pancakes against a Delia Smith recipe which has been my go-to in recent years.
I made up a double batch of Delia’s and a single batch of Be-Ro’s (so sure was I as to which would win) and found, to my surprise, that the Be-Ro recipe won, not just in terms of texture but, most importantly, on the flavour front too.
The recipe contains only 1 egg, to Delia’s 2, doesn’t require any faffing about with melting, cooling and measuring butter and comes complete with a handy note that the consistency should be that of single cream. These days, many people may not even know what the consistency of single cream is (just a little thicker than milk) but it always reassures me when I start to worry that the batter is too runny.
Don’t worry if there are a few lumps left in the batter despite your best efforts – your pancakes will still turn out beautifully.
And one final word of reassurance – the first pancake is almost always botched, as you adjust the heat of the frying pan, work out how much oil or butter you need and judge the cooking timing and quantity of batter. Don’t be disheartened!
Here’s the link to the Delia recipe if the one I suggest seems just too basic:https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/basicpancakeswithsuga_66226
Retro-fabulous classic British teatime pancakes
Ingredients
- 100g plain flour
- pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 300ml milk
Method
Sieve the flour into a bowl, add the pinch of salt and make a little well in the middle.
Crack the egg into it and use a whisk to incorporate the flour into the egg, gradually taking a little more flour from around the edges as you go.
Pour the milk in, bit by bit, whisking until you have a smooth, liquid batter.
Ideally, leave the batter to stand for a while but it’s not the end of the world if you don’t have time and want to start frying right away.
Heat the frying pan or pans until very hot, then slightly lower the temperature.
Add butter or oil to your frying pan (very little if you have non-stick pans or a little more to cast iron pans). If there’s much excess, tip it out into a little bowl to use for the next ones.
Ladle or pour just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan as you swirl it around and leave it to cook until the edges are a golden brown.
Run a spatula around the edge of the pancake to make sure it’s set and not sticking, then flip it over and give it a short while on the other side. It’s perfectly done when there are golden brown spots.
Serve up, squeeze lemon juice and sprinkle caster sugar over liberally, and tuck in!