Pancakes made in minutes

Darina Allen's recipe for perfect and quick pancakes

I've just realised that Shrove Tuesday is around the corner. The mere mention brings happy childhood memories flooding back: suddenly I'm standing in our kitchen in Cullohill, mum by the Esse dressed in her pretty flowery apron and her silver-grey hair tied in a neat bun. All my brothers and sisters are seated around the kitchen table squabbling about whose turn it is to have the next pancake. Mummy is turning them out as fast as she can manage. Sometimes if the wind is in the wrong direction, the temperamental old Esse range isn't as hot as it should be – disastrous when you need a very hot plate for pancakes. We ate them straight from the pan brushed with melted butter, sprinkled with castor sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Can you imagine how many pancakes one needed to feed nine hungry children, each with a different ritual. I liked to spread butter all over the speckled side, then add the sugar and lemon juice and roll it up. Then I sparingly cut them into thin rounds, one at a time, and even unravelled the last ones so they lasted longer. After all, eight others had to have their pancake before my turn came around again.
It was a feast – fantastic fun. I presume poor Mum must have been exhausted after the marathon pancake fest but if she was, she never let on. We also loved when she made us apple fritters – that was usually in autumn when the cooking apples were ripe on the old tree in the vegetable garden. Thin slices of apple rings were dipped in a batter and then deep-fried. They cooked into bizarre shapes which kept us amused trying to guess what it resembled – a dinosaur, an amoeba, a gorilla, a vampire, a rhino...
Pancakes – or should I say batters – are the quintessential fast food because of their amazing versatility. At their most basic they are made with ingredients that are practically always to hand, even in the galley of a non-domesticated god or goddess – flour, milk, eggs. The proportions can be varied to make a rich or light, thick or thin batter, depending on use and craving.
A thick batter can be dropped in small or large spoonfuls onto a hot pan and cooked until the bubbles burst on one side, then turned over to continue cooking on the flip side. These ones are delicious served with butter and jam or apple and sweet geranium jelly. Alternatively, buttermilk pancakes make an all-American breakfast lathered with butter, piled in a stack, drizzled with maple syrup and interleaved with crispy bacon.
A thinner batter produces all manner of crêpes or thin pancakes. A lighter, lacier result can be achieved by using half milk and water, rather than all milk. If you have little in the way of batterie de cuisine – in other words, the proper implements – the batter can be made in a bowl with a hand whisk or even a fork, but I recommend using a liquidiser or food processor for speed if possible.
A non-stick pan is a real boon for pancakes, since you can flip the pancakes effortlessly just like a pro. Another tip is to stir a few tablespoons of melted butter into the batter just before you start to cook – this not only enriches the pancakes but also ensures that the batter won't stick to the pan. Batter can be made and used immediately but if one can allow it to rest for 30 minutes to an hour, the pancakes will be more digestible.
Pancakes can of course have sweet or savoury fillings and, needless to say, every country has its own version. There's the fazzoletti and crespelle of Italy; the Greek semolina pancakes or simigali crepa; and the soft, spongy baghrir pancakes of Morocco. In India we ate a myriad of pancakes, made not just from wheat flour but also rice flour, split peas, mung beans or chickpea flour depending on the region. They had names like utthappam, dosa, cheela and poora. In China there are thin white flour pancakes called moo shoo row. In Vietnam there's banh xeo and in Korea pa'chon – both semolina flour pancakes made from a similar type batter but served with different accompaniments.
So don't just save pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. When you start to experiment you'll discover there's probably a pancake for every day of the year.

Pancake Batter

6 ozs (170g) plain white flour, preferably unbleached;

a good pinch of salt;

1 dessertspoon of castor sugar, (omit for savoury pancakes);

2 large eggs and 1 or 2 egg yolks, preferably free range;

15fl ozs (425ml) milk, or for very crisp, light delicate pancakes, milk and water mixed;

3-4 dessertspoons of melted butter

To Serve

Butter, freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar.

Serves 6 – makes 12 approx.

Sieve the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and drop in the lightly beaten eggs. With a whisk or wooden spoon, starting in the centre, mix the egg and gradually bring in the flour. Add the liquid slowly and beat until the batter is covered with bubbles. (If they are to be served with sugar and lemon juice, stir in an extra tablespoon of castor sugar and the finely grated rind of half a lemon.)

Let the batter stand in a cold place if you have time. Just before you cook the pancakes, stir in 3-4 dessertspoons of melted butter. This will make all the difference to the flavour and texture of the pancakes and will make it possible to cook them without greasing the pan each time.

Heat a non-stick pan over a high heat, pour in a small ladleful of batter or just enough to film the base of the pan. The batter should cook immediately. Loosen around the edges with a rubber slice, flip over and cook for a few seconds on the other side. Slide onto a plate, serve with your chosen filling, either sweet or savoury.

On top

For Shrove Tuesday, the traditional accompaniments of butter, freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar are my favourite. Other accompaniments for Sweet Pancakes can include bananas and butterscotch sauce; butter apples laced with mixed spices; cinnamon butter; melted chocolate and cream; home-made jam and cream; honey and chopped walnuts.