Into a large mixing bowl, place:
4 ounces plain flour, sieved with
1/4 teaspoon / large pinch of salt.
Poke a dent into the middle of your flour mountain, and into that crack
one medium egg.
Sploosh half a pint of milk into the bowl.
That's everything.
Beat or whisk (or beat then whisk) the lot together until it is lump free and looking like cream.
Put a teatowel or plate over the top of the mixing bowl and leave it to stand in a safe, cool room (ie nowhere like a sauna and nowhere the cat can get it).
For a few hours.
Finally:
Don't worry if it looks a bit funny - I mean slightly separated. In fact have a good look at that colour - its pretty much the same colour as the top of your pancake will go when you've successfully cooked the lower side.
Whisk it all back into a cream and get cracking. (That's UK slang for hurry along)
Heat a medium sized, heavy based frying pan containing as little oil or fat as possible, until it is threatening to smoke.
Swiftly land about half a teacup of batter into the middle of the pan with one hand, tipping and swirling the pan with the other, so that the batter reaches the edges and makes a circular pancake, before solidifying in the heat.
The top of the pancake will change colour, darkening slightly. It may even show signs of bubbles working their way through.
As soon as that happens (or sooner if any fine, delicate edges begin to look crisped), turn or flip the whole thing over and give the second side almost as much time as the first.
I know flipping is traditional, but hey, its your food, its your choice.
The second side usually doesn't need quite so long, assuming that there is even less fat on the base and the whole pan will be a bit hotter. This is when a turner comes in really handy because you can 'cheat', and peep at how the colour is coming along. If you're doing alright you should see a delicate lacy pattern.
And that's it all done!
Serve sprinkled with sugar, squirted with a dash of lemon juice, and rolled up. UK pancakes are rolled and placed side by side to fill a plate, not stacked.
(Of course you could get carried away and end up making five times as much mix, like I did, this year). In my 7" pan that came to about thirty pancakes, which means the original recipe makes approximately six.
Sounds about right.
15 comments:
Yum!
That kind of pancake sounds sort of like a crepe, and much less obnoxious than our, loaded with maple syrup, and clog your arteries butter, cakes.
Do you use powdered sugar? Lemon, I wouldn't have thought to put lemon with pancakes, but it sounds really good.
Cuts the grease I guess, Lori!
When I get on that plane and come visit, I'll inflict you with a batch or two....
:-)
I don't know if this is the same proportions, but mine sounds very similar: a cup of flour, a cup of milk, an egg, a pinch of salt. If I feel like cheating, I add a tiny dribble of oil, to stop it sticking.
And lemon and sugar is the ONLY way to eat pancakes.
Also good if you toss in slices of very ripe banana at the end, if you have some banana to get rid of before it crawls out the door by itself. Also with lemon.
Actually, Cheryl, if you like bananas with lemon and sugar, you might also like my mum's recipe for banana jam:
Four very ripe bananas
Juice from four lemons
Sugar to taste
Boil it until it is all soft and mushy. Sometimes it goes pink, in which case you serve it up as 'mystery jam' and listen to the guesses get wilder.
(It doesn't keep, but in our house it never did anyway.)
That sounds gorgeous - is it 'eat now' or can it keep?
And damn; what part of 'it doesn't keep' didn't I get?
Doh.
(Not even until kids' packed lunches the next day?)
Now see what you've made me do - I've only gone and dribbled all over my keyboard. Can I have my pancakes with chocolate and bananas, please?
I don't know exactly how long it lasts - it rarely lasts long enough to find out. But I think it will last a week or so, in the fridge. But I remember leaving it too long once (because I forgot there was some left), and it grew.
(I won't say WHAT it grew. This comment thread is delicious and I'd hate to spoil it.)
You know, it's just occurred to me that banana jam might go quite nicely on Perfect English Pancakes. :-)
I've got caught up with the idea of crepes and now I can't stop thinking - hot banana jam, and ice cream.....
Sounds yummie. I'll have to try it.
Hot banana jam and icecream AND Perfect English Pancakes.
(Sounds like a plan to me.)
OMG, you are going to cross the pond?!?
OMG, OMG, OMG, shit I've turned into a valley girl!
That would be a most excellent adventure Cheryl!
But when you come you are NOT cooking, we will wait on you hand and foot, and spoil you, and probably drive you mad, we'll all be so damned excited to see you!
OMG! I'm planning now...
1) How the hell did I forget to re-enter you into my bloglines? Had no idea you were still updating!
2) Read this woman's post today -- she's got questions about autism in adults; thought maybe you'd have a remark or two for her: http://ashleyladd.blogspot.com/2008/02/autism-how-do-we-diagnose-if-adult.html
3) Off to catch up on your posts!
Cooo - wonderful! The pancakes .... and you blogging again. Jeez I am so slow. Doh! :-)
Post a Comment