Best pancake recipes in New Zealand, ever!

Pancakes are a quick, simple and delicious dish that can be combined with all manner of toppings, and can be either sweet or savoury. They are a great accompaniment for curries, as served in Malaysia, or covered in syrup, cream and fruit for an indulgent dessert.

These recipes are for sweet pancakes.

Secret To Making The Best Pancakes

The secret to making a great pancake is to ensure you use fresh, quality ingredients and not to overmix the batter. You don’t want to create too much gluten. This can make the pancakes chewy, rather than fluffy.

For traditional American Pancakes, the baking powder should be less than six months old. Also try substituting buttermilk for regular milk. If you don’t have buttermilk, try adding a little lemon to the milk before mixing. For either type of pancake, the pan should be hot enough so the pancake doesn’t stick, but not so hot that it burns.

Let’s look at two styles:

Authentic French Pancake Recipe

A French pancake is very thin – a crepe. They are traditionally eaten for breakfast or as a dessert.

Ingredients:

• 150g plain flour
• 300ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 20g melted butter
• Extra melted butter – preferably clarified butter – to grease pan

Method:

Sift the flour into a bowl. Gently whisk in the milk and eggs but don’t overdo it. Stir in the butter. Cover and place in the fridge for one hour to rest. The mixture should be smooth, although some lumps are okay.

Heat butter over a medium heat until foaming and you smell a nutty flavour. The pan needs to be hot, to prevent sticking, but not so hot that the butter starts to sizzle. Add enough batter to thinly coat the base, and tilt the pan to create an even thickness.

After a minute, the edges will curl and the base will turn golden. Use a spatula to check it – the base should be golden. Flip and cook for a further minute before transferring to a plate.

Serve with a squeeze of lemon or cottage cheese and a drizzle of berry compote. Yum!

Traditional American Pancake Recipe

American pancakes are thicker than French crepes. Be sure to stack ‘em high!

Ingredients

• 135g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 130ml milk
• 2 medium sized eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter  or olive oil, plus extra for cooking
  
  Method

Sift the flour, fresh baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a bowl. In a second bowl, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then the melted butter. Again, be careful not to overdo the mixing.

Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and beat until you have a smooth batter.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it’s melted and smells nutty, add a ladle of batter. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown. The pancake should be about 1cm thick and spongy. Repeat until you have enough for a stack.

Serve with lashings of maple syrup and butter!