New York inspired... Pancakes

In my humble opinion, the only successful cure for New York withdrawal symptoms is pancakes... not fancy crepes, but those thick rounds which just shout 'comfort food!' I've tried and tested all the fancy methods: buttermilk, folding in whisked egg whites... the list goes on. But from seeing the beauty of humble simplicity in the NY supermarket/cafe, I decided to take it back to basics. After all, pancakes are not about pomp and circumstance, they're built to cheer you up, to throw in the middle of the table for everyone to snatch.

Serves 3

100g Plain flour
100g Milk (I used semi-skimmed)
1 egg
Half tsp bicarbonate of soda
Half tsp baking powder
1 Small pinch of salt
10g Melted butter/spread
... yes, that's it.

Just whisk/blend them all together to beat out the lumps... once it's smooth, it's done.
Now here's the key: leave it to rest in the bowl/in a jug for 30mins - 1hr before frying dollops (don't flatten them) on a hot pan (with only a very thin spray of oil to stop them sticking). I don't know why, but it just seems to stop them from being heavy.  When frying, they're ready to turn once the edge starts to form a slight 'skin' and bubbles form on the top - you'll get used to your own pan's heat after the first couple. If I'm feeding a crowd I keep a pan of water on the boil with a plate on top and put the pancakes on there (with some form of lid on top to keep the steam in) to keep them soft and warm as I cook the rest.

Serve with whatever you fancy, here's a couple of my favourite toppings:

The New Yorker:
Maple Syrup with crisp pancetta.

The Chocoholic:
Hazelnut chocolate spread with sliced banana.

The Healthy(ish) One:
Summer berries with natural yoghurt, toasted almonds and a swirl of honey or agave nectar.

The Custardy One:
Stewed apples with advocaat swirled in in the last few seconds of cooking to form a slightly tipsy custard, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - recipe from The Sherwood Forest cafe which featured on Nigel Slater's TV programme.


But those are just my ideas so have an experiment and let me know if you stumble across something genius, I'd love to hear from you!


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