Everyday Is Pancake Day.

A couple of weeks ago I asked, "is it pancake day this week?" Iain replied, "it's pancake day everyday in this house..." Ok, so he over exaggerated slightly but he's not completely wrong. I love pancakes. Like, almost as much as I love my children. The delicious fried, battery breakfast, perfectly crowned with a huge array of toppings - each carefully chosen dependant on which kind of pancake I'm making. Because y'know, every pancake is different after all!

From American too Scotch and not forgetting the traditional Shrove Tuesday style, I love them all. But what's the difference? Well, over the next few days, in preparation for Shrove Tuesday, I will share each of my favourite pancake recipes with you, alongside all my best tips & tricks for that perfect batter and even a great 'first pancake'!

First up, the Scotch! I've previously posted my Scotch pancake recipe but what better opportunity is there to bring it out from the archive? This is a smaller quantity recipe to that of my original one and will make around 10 pancakes.

So what makes a Scotch pancake? Also known a "drop-scone", the Scotch pancakes a bit different to their Shrove Tuesday cousins and more comparable to their American equivalent. Made using the traditional ingredients of flour, eggs & milk, Scotch pancakes also require a bit of sugar for sweetness and self-raising flour (as opposed to plain) to give them a bit of lift & fluffiness. They're traditionally cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle but if you have a standard cooker like us, a frying pan will suffice. Oh, and they're pretty tasty & go great with a cup of tea!

• 4oz of Self-raising Flour.

• Pinch of Salt.
• 1oz of Caster Sugar.
• 1 Egg.

• ¼ Pint of Milk.

• Teaspoon of Sunflower/Vegetable Oil.
• Additional Oil for greasing.

1. Sift the flour, salt & sugar into a large bowl.
2. Measure the milk into a jug and add the eggs. Gently whisk together with a fork.
3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour the milk/egg into this. Using an electric hand mixer, bring the ingredients together to create the batter. Add the teaspoon of oil and give one final mix - the oil will help keep your pancakes moist & last a little longer.
4. Add a little oil onto your griddle (or a frying pan if you don't have a griddle) and evenly disperse with an oil brush. Once the pan is hot, scoop on a small amount of the batter (just over a tablespoon is ideal). I manage 3 pancakes in our frying pan at a time but dependant on your preferred size of pancake you might manage 2 or 4.
5. You'll know the pancakes are ready to flip when the top surface starts to show popping bubbles, after around 2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently flip the pancake and continue to cook on the other side for a another minute or so.
6. When golden brown on both sides, remove from the heat and enjoy with your choice of topping!

My personal favourite is a good helping of butter, John likes some jam and Iain thinks all pancakes should be smothered in ice cream & syrup. The great thing about these pancakes is that you can save any you don't use for a day or so, easily brought back to life with a minute in the toaster or microwave.

‼ Stay tuned for my American pancake recipe tomorrow & my Shrove Tuesday style pancake recipe on Tuesday. ‼