FOOD: The Perfect Pancake Recipes

It’s pancake day! WOOHOOO! One of the few days of the year we’re encouraged to be children and eat pudding for dinner.

Sounds good to me.

Usually, I go for a tried and tested recipe by the legend that is Delia Smith. They are faultless, work perfectly every time and are made like this;

For the pancake mixture:

• 110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
• 50g/2oz butter

Whisk all ingredients together, then spoon a ladle of the mixture into a hot hot pan that has a tiny bit of butter melted. Flip when it starts to curl up at the edges and make sure it’s lightly brown on both sides.

Then just top with whatever you like! Nutella, bananas and ice cream…or even go savoury with mushroom and cheese. Personally? I’m a traditional lemon and sugar girl myself. Mmmm.

Throughout the country though, people with special diets or intolerances get a bit cross on Shrove Tuesday, because they jut can’t join in the fun. Let’s face it – if you have a gluten intolerance and can’t have flour, or lactose intolerant and can’t have milk, standard pancake recipes are kind of out the window.

Personally, I don’t have any intolerances, but because the health problems I have due to my CFS and Fibromyalgia have been getting worse, not better, James and I have decided to cut out all processed foods, and go back to basics – following a Paleo diet for the foreseeable future at least. This means no flour, or sugar….and no lot’s of other things. Again, makes the traditional Delia recipe a no go.

Never fear though. I’ve found a recipe that works almost as well. I’m not going to say it’s exactly the same as normal crepes, but it is a bloody good alternative. Here’s how you make them;

• 3/4 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1 spoon coconut oil or grass fed butter

The method is a little different to normal so follow these steps.

1. Mash the banana in a bowl – and make sure it’s thoroughly mashed and smooth
2. Whisk in the egg and combine throughly
3. Melt coconut oil or butter on a medium/low heat
4. Ladle in pancake mixture
5. Let the pancake cook for 4-5 minutes on one side. It won’t bubble so check it after 3 or 4 minutes and turn when it’s started to brown. Be careful not to flip to early though as it will fall apart if not ready.
6. Cook for 2 minutes on the other side.

Again, top with whichever ingredients you wish! This pancake is naturally sweet, due to the banana, and more filling than original pancakes.

There are step by step photos and instructions here, which is where I found the recipe originally.

There’s also a great method for blueberry pancakes over at Vicki Higham’s A Life of Geekery, which I’ve posted before and we LOVE.

So…some questions. Will you be enjoying pancakes tonight? Which recipe will you choose…and most importantly of course…what’s your favourite topping??