Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Pancake Wars: Regular VS Gluten Free Pancakes
Reading Time: 4 minutesKids love pancakes, so do many adults. Unfortunately it seems like more and more people are finding that they are in fact gluten-intolerant or even have coeliac disease which means Pancake Day can be a sad occasion. For those of you blessed with the ability to eat flour we have a basic pancake recipe for you. For those with a more temperamental gut, keep scrolling for our review of Grainy Brainy Gluten-Free Pancake Mix and our tips on making it!
The Swedish like jam and whipped cream with theirs. But there’s many more options such as the traditional sugar and lemon juice or maple syrup. Why not try something new this year? Perhaps some fresh berries or even cheese and ham for a savoury option.
basic pancake recipes
Here’s a recipe, which couldn’t be simpler. There is a bit of technique involved in the cooking and flipping. But here are our tips:
1. The first one is almost always a throw away, even if you’re Gordon Ramsay.
2. Use a non-stick pan, lightly oiled or buttered. Keep adding a bit more butter when the pan needs it, either wiped around with a bit of kitchen paper, or just poured in.
3. Make the mix the night before to let the starch/flour swell, but re-whisk just before cooking because the solids can sink to the bottom.
4. Your mix should be the consistency of single cream for crepes or yogurt for american style pancakes.
Basic Crêpes
Ingredients: (makes 12-14)
- 110g plain flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 275ml milk
- 50g butter for frying
Tip: If you like your pancakes thicker, more like american style pancakes, double the flour and don’t spread the mixture to the edges. If you accidentally make it too thick just add a little more milk until you’re happy with the consistency.
Method:
- Whisk all the ingredients, except the butter, together and leave to stand if possible overnight (but it’s also fine if you cook them immediately).
- Put a knob of butter in a non-stick crepe or frying pan, on a medium heat, and spread round with some kitchen paper.
- Ladle in enough mixture to spread evenly over the pan, and tip it around till it’s covered the surface.
- Cook for a minute and check with a wooden spatula or pan-slice (or similar, so as not to damage or scratch your lovely non-stick surface) that the underside is golden.
- Then either flip with the spatula or toss in one confident motion (over the sink if you are worried).
- The other side only needs 30 seconds or so.
- Stack up the cooked pancakes on a dinner plate with foil over (or greaseproof paper and a clean tea towel) while you do the rest.
Serve as dessert: with the toppings such as sugar, whipped/squirty cream, berries, Nutella, syrup etc.
OR
Serve as a Savoury main course:
- Add your choice of savoury toppings such as cheese, chilli, cooked chicken, mushrooms, spinach etc. and roll up like a taco.
- Top with grated cheese or a cheesy sauce
- Bake for 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius, to make a pancake bake.
American Style Pancakes
Ingredients (makes enough for 4)
- 200g self-raising flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 25g melted butter, plus extra for cooking
- 200ml milk
- vegetable oil for cooking
Method
- Mix the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and a pinch of salt together in a large bowl.
- Create a well in the centre and add the eggs, melted butter and milk.
- Whisk together until smooth then pour into a jug.
- Heat a small knob of butter and 1 tsp of oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.
- When the butter begins to froth, pour in batter to desired size pancake.
- Cook on one side for 1-2 minutes or until bubbles start to appear and then flip and cook other side for a further minute
- Repeat until all the batter is used up.
- Serve with your favourite toppings. (we like maple syrup, butter and bacon rashers)
Gluten-Free Pancake Recipe
Ingredients (Makes 6)
- 125g gluten-free plain flour (we used Doves Farm)
- 1 egg
- 250ml milk
- butter, for frying
Method
- Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
- Crack the egg in the middle and pour in a quarter of the milk.
- Whisk to thoroughly combine the mixture.
- Once smooth, mix in another quarter of the milk until smooth again, then repeat the process for the remaining milk.
- Leave to rest for 20 mins. Stir again before using.
- Heat a small non-stick frying pan with a knob of butter.
- When the butter starts to foam, pour a small amount of the mixture into the pan and swirl around to to the desired size.
- Cook for a few mins until golden brown on the bottom, then turn over and cook until golden on the the other side.
- Repeat until you have used all the mixture, stirring the mixture between pancakes and adding more butter for frying as necessary.
- Serve with your favourite toppings (maple syrup and a squeeze of orange juice is delicious).
Have not had pancakes for years!
That’s really useful and I like how you have made reference to how thick the consistency of the mixture should be – it can sometimes be too think when I make it!
This video might also be helpful for viewers of your blog post perhaps? winegifts4uwine-tv/wine-tv-videos/how-to-make-pancakes