Pancake Day is Tuesday 16th February – just a few days to go, but I think pancakes should be eaten more often.  The light American style pancakes are perfect for breakfast with blueberries or crispy bacon and maple syrup. For a more substantial meal,  the traditional English pancake can be filled with all sorts of delicious savoury or sweet  fillings. It’s also hard to beat a simple squeeze of fresh lemon and sprinkle of sugar.

Here is my favourite traditional pancake recipe which never lets me down, although I’ve never worked out why the first pancake in any batch (regardless of the recipe) just never turns out right?  Naturally, I think the best-tasting results come from using organic ingredients, in particular the eggs and milk.

In a large bowl, whisk together two medium eggs, 450ml of milk and 75g of melted butter. Whisk in 125g plain flour and when that has been well incorporated, add another 125g and whisk until completely smooth. (For savoury pancakes add 1 teaspoon salt, for sweet pancakes you can add some sugar, but I don’t bother as the sweet fillings tend to be sweet enough)

To lightly oil a frying pan, I dip some kitchen towel in a little melted butter and just wipe this around the pan (ideally 16cm diameter). Once the pan is hot, I tend to turn the heat down to a medium heat and add one ladle (about 2 tablespoons) of mixture, swirling  the batter round to coast the base evenly.

Cook for 40-50 seconds until golden – check by lifting an edge with a palette knife and then flip it over and cook the other side for 10-15 seconds. Pancakes are best eaten straight away, so rather than try and keep them warm I serve each pancake as it’s done to whoever is most in need!  This mixture makes about 15 pancakes.