The Fine Art of Pancake Making, How to Make Perfect Pancakes.

Pancakes are delicious, versatile and easy... wait, no they're not easy. They can be surprisingly finicky. Even people who know their way around a kitchen find they want to pull their own hair out over a bad batch of pancakes. It seems every country has their own variety of pancake that all look equally delectable. In this hub I'll be covering the North American variety. The pancake you find in most chain restaurants such as Ihop and Denny's. Here are my tips for perfect pancakes every time...

In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients. In a small to medium bowl combine wet ingredients.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Batter will be slightly lumpy.

Heat a non-stick pan or skillet to medium. Very lightly grease with cooking spray or butter.

Wait until your pan is fully heated. Pour the batter using a 1/3 cup measuring cup (use a bigger or smaller measuring cup if you want bigger or smaller pancakes). Let cook until the edges are dry and the center is bubbly as shown in the picture below.

Carefully slip a spatula under the pancake and quickly flip over. Don't try to readjust after you flip. Let cook 1-2 minutes then serve.

Continue doing this until your batter is gone.

Make it Fruity,

Stir into the batter 1/2 cup chopped fresh fruit such as apple, peach, nectarine, apricot, mango, papaya, banana, pear or canned pineapple tidbits.

Stir into the batter 1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries, such as blueberry, strawberry, raspberry...

Stir into the batter 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana and reduce milk by 1/4 cup.

Stir into the batter 1 tablespoon zest from a lemon or orange

Make it Wholegrain

Whole wheat pancakes- Substitute the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and use packed brown sugar instead of the granulated sugar.

Bran pancakes- Substitute 1/4 cup of the flour with oat bran, wheat bran or toasted wheat germ.

Cornmeal pancakes- Substitute 1/2 cup of the flour with cornmeal.

Make it Tasty. I'm not saying the above options aren't tasty...

Buttermilk pancakes- Substitute the milk with buttermilk. Reduce the baking powder to 2 teaspoons and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.

Cinnamon pancakes- Add 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon to the flour mixture. This is especially good when chopped apples are stirred in as well.

Pumpkin pancakes- Increase the flour to 2 cups. Add 1 cup canned pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon each of nutmeg, ginger, allspice and cloves.

Chocolate chip pancakes- Stir into the batter 1/2 cup (or more) chocolate chips.

Enjoy your pancakes topped with fruit, butter, jam, powdered sugar or various syrups. Just to name a few. Let me know in the comments your favorite pancake toppings ^_^

Some fun syrup recipes to try...

Fruit syrup- In a saucepan cook together 1 cup of fruit, 3/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water or juice. Mash fruit while cooking, Cook until the mixture becomes syrupy.

Coconut syrup- In a saucepan cook together 1 (14oz) can coconut milk with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Serve chunky or process in a blender before serving. This is especially good served with chocolate chip pancakes or any tropical fruit and banana.

Chocolate syrup- In a saucepan combine 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup cocoa powder and a pinch of salt. Cook over over low heat whisking constantly until it thickens and just starts to simmer. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.