English Pancakes.
Here in the UK we usually just call them 'Pancakes' but I thought I'd be a little more specific, as I'm sure many of you non English folks would refer to them as 'Crepes.' But I assure you, these are not crepes! Crepes are a thinner, often savoury side dish that can be served with a number of savoury dishes- including meat. These English style pancakes, are thicker, and can be eaten with a number of sweet toppings for breakfast, or dessert. There is even a whole day in the British calendar which is dedicated to Pancakes (incidentally pancake day is my third favourite day of the year after Halloween and my birthday!)
Ingredients: (makes about 6)
(these measurements are approximate, I usually just chuck them in until it looks right)
2/3 of a cup of plain flour.
One cup of milk.
2 eggs.
Butter or Margarine (to cook with.)
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to fifty-ish degrees, and put in an oven proof plate, when you have made each pancake you can transfer them to this plate to keep warm.
Sieve the flour in to a bowl, add a small amount of the milk and mix together, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking in-between unit thoroughly mixed.
Then gradually add the rest of the milk, until the mixture is a liquid consistency with no lumps, but not too runny, and it should be a pale creamy yellow colour.
Turn one of the rings on your hob to full power, and put a frying pan on the ring. Once it is nice and hot, take a spatula, and use it to scoop a small amount of butter or margarine into the frying pan, (use margarine instead of oil, I don't know why, but it works much better!) it should start to sizzle straight away. Move the fat around the pan, once it is covered quickly pour a small amount of the batter into the pan. Move it around so it is covering as much of the bottom of the pan as possible, place back on the heat and shake the pan, until the pancake loosens and moves about by itself. Continue cooking it on this side for a few more seconds, then turn it over and cook the other side (if all the butter has gone, add a little more so the pancake doesn't burn.) If you can, it's always more fun to flip the pancake over, (see the picture to the right) otherwise just use the spatula!
Once it's cooked, transfer the pancake onto the plate in the oven to keep warm. Repeat the above steps until all the batter is gone. Once you've made all your pancakes, the're are a million different toppings you can eat them with! Here are just a few, if you can think of any I've missed, then please add them in a comment at the bottom. And as always... Enjoy!
Pancake Toppings:
Sugar
Lemon/ orange Juice
Melted chocolate/ Chocolate sauce/ Chocolate chips
Cinnamon
Cloves
Golden Syrup
Maple Syrup
Treacle
Honey
Fresh fruit: e.g strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, oranges, apples... ect ect