Pancakes are for life, not just for Tuesdays

Or Shrove Tuesday, specifically. I adore pancakes. I've been the resident pancake-maker at home since I can remember, and they're so fun and easy to make that there's really no excuse not to. Last summer I went to France, and the fantastic crêpes there only increased my love. 

 

There are a million ways you can eat your pancakes, but the basic batter recipe's a simple one, and not at all expensive to make.

Ingredients (makes approx 12):

- 115g/4oz plain flour

- 2 eggs

- 300ml milk

- 2tbsp melted butter

You can use gluten-free flour. I did last week cos that's basically all we have in the house, and I suggest if you do that you add an extra 50ml of milk cos the batter'll be thicker.

1. Put the flour in a bowl. Add the eggs and some of the milk, and whisk in the flour a little at a time.
2. Gradually pour in the remaining milk, whisking until the ingredients are well mixed in.
3. Add the melted butter and whisk again.
4. Brush the frying pan with a little more butter, and heat the pan until it sizzles. If the pan isn't hot enough your first pancake will fall to bits, and I take it upon myself to prove the 'first pancake will fail' rule wrong as often as possible.

5. Pour in approx 2tbsp of batter, and cook for about a minute - until the edges are curling and the batter is bubbling - then flip. Despite my love of pancake-making I had honestly never flipped a pancake before last week. So thank you, Jamie, for teaching me the art! 

As for the filling, it's really just whatever you fancy. My sister's favourite is maple syrup. Mine's good old lemon and sugar. In summer I re-created a spiced, caramelised apple concoction we'd had in France, which we ate with raspberries and yoghurt:

Grab two apples (peeled, cored and sliced), 3tbsp caster sugar, 1tsp of cinnamon and 50g butter and put them in a pan. Whap on a gentle heat for about 10 mins until it's all golden and sitcky.