Pancake Day - Here’s how to make the perfect pancake

Before you start crashing about in the kitchen with frying pans and mixing bowls this evening, you need a fail-safe pancake recipe.

Follow these tips and there will be no crying over spilt milk tonight. hopefully.

The perfect pancake mix

This is a foolproof recipe for pancake batter:

Makes 12-14 pancakes

• 110g plain flour

• 2 large eggs

• 75ml water

• 200ml milk

• 1tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

• Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and with a spoon make a well in the center.

• Break the eggs into the well and using a whisk slowly incorporate them with the flour.

• Gradually add the milk and water until you have a light batter.

• Heat a little butter in your frying pan over a hot heat, and add 2 tablespoons of melted butter to the batter, stir through to combine.

• Add a ladle full of the batter to the hot pan and move from side to side until it evenly covers the surface of the pan.

• Reduce the heat and cook for about a minute each side or until the batter begins to take a nice golden colour.

• Eat while still warm.

But, if you really want to have standout crepes, then follow these top tips:

A better batter

• For a perfectly smooth batter, we recommend warming your milk first. If you get it up to around 60C, this will help gel the egg mixture together and ensure a smooth batter.

• Strain your batter mix twice to ensure no lumps.

• While, for a more American-style pancake,you could try adding ricotta to your mix to give that extra fluffy texture.

• We recommend resting your pancake mix for between 20 minutes (which gives the starch granules in the flour enough time to swell up) and 12 hours (which clearly isn’t going to happen).

• Always weigh out your ingredients – no guesswork. It’s difficult to get consistency. A good recipe will yield perfection every time. Apparently, what you’re looking for is something the consistency of double cream.

Here are 20 Perfect Toppings to try:

1. Fresh Fruit – chopped bananas, strawberries, citrus zest/juice. For example, the below Grain Free Berry Pancakes have berries cooked into the pancakes as well as a topping of raspberries.

2. Cream – you could drizzle over a little pouring cream or place a generous dollop of double/thick cream on top of pancakes for an indulgent treat. For example these Chocolate Fudge Brownie Pancakes are topped with a dollop of double cream and chocolate chips. (recipe coming in the Grain Free Pancakes eBook, soon!)

3. Sour Cream – a perfect topping for savory pancakes!

4. Honey – my kids love pancakes topped with honey. For example these cashew pancakes are topped with a drizzle of honey. (click here for the recipe)

5. Maple Syrup – while the kids LOVE honey, maple syrup is my sweet pancake topping of choice.

6. Cinnamon – cinnamon is a rich anti-oxidant and delicious on sweet pancakes. (where to find cinnamon) 7. Custard – my Husband’s favorite pancake topping!

8. Lemon Curd – perfect to balance the sweetness of ultra sweet pancakes.

9. Chocolate – chips, shards, grated, sauce, nutella, any chocolate variation is a yummy, perfect pancake topping!

10. Caramel Sauce – for an occasional treat top pancakes with caramel sauce for a truly indulgent experience!

11. Ricotta or other soft cheese – pancakes topped with ricotta transforms the dish into cheesecake pancakes. These Cheescake Pancakes have ricotta cooked into the pancakes and taste like a decadent cheesecake.

12. Parmesan – delicious on savory pancakes.

13. Butter – a classic and simple pancake topping which brings to life ordinary pancakes.

14. Jam – topping pancakes with a sweet jam is a treat which my kids simply adore!

15. Ice Cream – a popular pancake topping which is an indulgent treat.

16. Nuts – such as flaked or slivered almonds can give a crunchy texture to pancakes. For example these fluffy almond pancakes are topped with slivered almonds.

17. Shredded Coconut – a sprinkling of shredded coconut is a wonderful way to bring extra coconut flavor to coconut pancakes.

18. Mint or other herb – like on these mint choc chip pancakes.

19. Yoghurt – plain natural yoghurt can balance the sweetness of pancakes really well.

20. Dried Fruit – finely chopped sultanas, figs, apricots or other dried fruit is a popular favorite sweet pancake topping.