I have never met anyone whose eyes don’t light up when you put a nice hot stack of pancakes down in front of them for breakfast! In my opinion, this recipe for pancakes that I am sharing with you today is the best pancakes ever. What makes the best pancake? Well, the best pancake is one that is light and fluffy and that also tastes great!
There should be no overwhelming flavour of any one ingredient in the finished pancake. They should just taste like Pancakes, and they should make your family lick their lips with anticipation!
Having said all of that I will go with the bold proclamation that these are THE absolute best pancakes! They turn out perfectly every time. I have been making these for my family for years. Every Saturday in our home when my children were growing up was Pancake Day! I am happy to say that it is a tradition that is being carried on now with their own children!
Plain simple ingredients that most people will have in their house at all times.
| INGREDIENTS |
| 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour |
| 3 ½ tsp baking powder |
| ½ tsp salt |
| ¼ cup sugar |
| 1 ¼ cups whole milk, room temperature |
| 1 large free range egg, room temperature |
| 3 TBS unsalted butter, melted |
| 1 tsp vanilla extract |
| Oil for the skillet |
HINTS AND TIPS
If you follow all of my hints and tips for this easy pancakes recipe, you are assured of success! Perfect breakfast every time!
1. Read through the recipe several times to help familiarise yourself with any ingredients or equipment needed.
2. Assemble all of your ingredients before you begin. This can help to prevent you from leaving out anything integral to the recipe. Many a cake has been ruined by someone leaving out the baking powder, or some other essential ingredient. Having everything assembled before you begin prevents that from happening! Note – there is NO soda in this recipe, just Baking Powder. Also if you have a really sensitive palate use aluminum-free Baking Powder.
3. Make sure your milk and egg are both at room temperature.
4. Whisk all of your dry ingredients together with a whisk to make sure everything is evenly distributed throughout. Nobody wants to get a mouthful of baking powder. If you have a good sifter or a fine sieve you can also use that. The sugar might need to be added afterwards in that case.
5. Beat your egg and milk together and add along with the melted butter to the dry ingredients. I always make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and then add the liquid into the well all at once. This means that I can whisk the batter up, incorporating small amounts of dry ingredients from the sides of the bowl as I go along, creating a more even mix.
Note – your batter is not supposed to be totally smooth, a few lumps are quite acceptable.
6. Let your batter sit for a few minutes before you begin to cook the pancakes. This will help to activate the baking powder.
7. Use a heavy based non-stick skillet and allow it to heat over a moderate heat until you can flick a tiny drop of water onto the pan. If your pan is hot enough, it will sizzle and evaporated immediately.
8. I brush the skillet with oil before cooking each batch. You only want a light coating of the oil. A piece of paper kitchen towelling with some oil on it does the perfect job of this.
9. Measure the batter onto the heated pan using a ¼ cup measure for evenly sized pancakes. Do not crowd the pan and make sure you have plenty of space between each pancake.
10. Keep the heat in your pan steady, if your pancakes are browning too quickly you may need to turn it down a bit.
11. You cannot rush a good pancake. DON’T have the temperature too high or you will risk burning them on the outside while they will be still raw in the middle. Likewise, DON’T have the pan too cool or you won’t get a big enough rise in the pancakes.
12. The pancakes are ready to flip over when the surface is covered evenly with small bubbles and it looks a tiny bit dry.
13. Don’t over think things. Pancakes are not supposed to be perfectly round and I have often heard it said that the first pancake is always lopsided. It can take you a few goes to get what you think is the perfect shape.
14. Have a baking sheet ready in a slow oven to keep the pancakes warm while you finish cooking the whole batch.
HOW TO MAKE THIS EASY PANCAKES RECIPE
Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a bowl.
Whisk together the milk, egg, and vanilla if using.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the wet all at once and whisk all of the ingredients together until just combined. You will have a thick batter. There may be a few lumps, but everything should be thoroughly incorporated. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium high heat. Have ready an oiled piece of paper kitchen towelling. Brush this across the surface of the hot pan/griddle. To grease it lightly.
Pour the batter onto the heated pan in ¼ cup measures.
Cook on one side for 3 to 6 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown on the underside and the top is covered with small bubbles. Carefully flip over and cook on the other side for a further 3 to 6 minutes until done.
Keep warm in a low oven until you have cooked all the pancakes.
Serve hot with pats of butter and your favourite pancake toppings and syrups.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SERVING THIS EASY PANCAKES RECIPE
My children always loved their pancakes served hot with pats of butter and plenty of Maple Syrup or honey for pouring over the top. I used to also serve cooked sausages and bacon with them for a full breakfast and sometimes for an extra tasty treat, like on a special day or if we had an overnight guest, I would add chilled sliced tinned peaches. These always went down really well!
Another thing my children always really loved was when I made the pancakes silver dollar sized. Simply drop them onto the hot greased pan by heaped tablespoonsful. You get quite a few pancakes by doing this, and for some reason, kids really love to be able to fit a whole pancake into their mouths at once. Especially little boys!
You can also add fruit to these pancakes while you are cooking them. Simply sprinkle fresh blueberries, raspberries, chopped strawberries, etc. over the batter while it is cooking prior to flipping them over. Remember less is more and don’t add too much to the pancakes, about 4 or 5 berries is ample. 4Chocolate chips are also nice!
You can experiment as well with flavoured butters and syrups when serving the pancakes. Cinnamon honey butter is really delicious!
Another thing children really love is if you make pancake shapes. You can put the batter into a squeeze bottle and squeeze shapes onto the hot pan. Mine always loved it when I made them pancake people! One this is for certain, this easy pancakes recipe for breakfast will always put a smile on your family’s faces. With a few simple ingredients and relatively few steps, your family will be amazed at these deliciously light and fluffy pancakes!
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Pancakes Recipe
I call these pancake perfection! Light fluffy and oh-so-delicious served with your favourite toppings!
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: Makes 10 pancakes 1x
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk, room temperature
- 1 large free range egg, room temperature
- 3 TBS unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- Oil for the skillet
To Serve:
- Pats of cold butter
- Fresh fruit
- Maple or fruit syrups
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together in a bowl.
- Whisk together the milk, egg butter and vanilla.
- Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Add the wet all at once and whisk all of the ingredients together until just combined. You will have a thick batter. There may be a few lumps, but everything should be thoroughly incorporated. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium high heat. Have ready an oiled piece of paper kitchen towelling. Brush this across the surface of the hot pan/griddle. To grease it lightly.
- Pour the batter onto the heated pan in ¼ cup measures. Cook on one side for 3 to 6 minutes, until the pancake is golden brown on the underside and the top is covered with small bubbles. Carefully flip over and cook on the other side for a further 3 to 6 minutes until done. Keep warm in a low oven until you have cooked all the pancakes.
- Serve hot with pats of butter and your favourite pancake toppings and syrups.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 10
- Calories: 139 (without any toppings, fruit, or syrup)
Marie Rayner is a retired Chef, freelance writer, recipe developer, food blogger, and Cookbook author. She makes her home in Chester, UK, where she lives with her husband, Todd, and their much beloved English Cocker, Mitzie. Her motto is “Life is far too short to eat bad food,” and her goal is to share delicious and easy recipes which anyone can enjoy and cook in the comfort of their own home.
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