Pass The Maple Syrup.

Beautifully fluffy, dripping in maple syrup & topped with crispy bacon. The American pancake! The quintessential breakfast of the Yanks. But just what makes these pancakes so perfect in comparison to our Scotch and Shrove Tuesday equivalents? Well, it's a combination of things.

First up is the choice of flour and raising agents. Most American pancake recipes will suggest using plain flour (although some traditional recipes even use cornmeal!) which without a little help will create some pretty flat pancakes indeed. This is where Baking Powder plays a big part as it'll lift your pancakes right up to the high heavens.

Next up is the buttermilk. Partly for flavour but also for the science-y side of baking. Using buttermilk in place of normal milk will help with the fluffiness of your pancakes, as the acid within the buttermilk reacts with the Bicarbonate of Soda (both in the Baking Powder & an extra pinch for good measure) causing lots of little bubbles to form in your batter. And bubbles equal fluffy pancakes!

• 4oz Plain Flour.

• 1 tsp Baking Powder.

• Pinch of Bicarbonate of Soda.

• Pinch of Salt.

• 3 tbsp Caster Sugar.

• 200ml of Buttermilk.

• 1 Egg.

• 3 tbsp Melted Butter.

• Additional butter for frying.

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt & caster sugar into a large bowl.
2. Measure the buttermilk into a jug and add the egg. Gently whisk together with a fork.
3. Add half the buttermilk/egg to the dry ingredients & gently mix with a hand mixer. Once combined, gradually add the remaining milk/egg mixture, taking care not to over mix the batter. Once wet & dry ingredients are combined, add the melted butter and gently mix once more to combine.
4. Add a little butter to your frying pan & once hot, scoop some batter into the middle - I use a ¼ Cup measure and find this a perfect size.
5. When the pancake starts to bubble on top & appears dry, flip and allow to cook for a further minute or two. Once you have a decent stack of pancakes, sit back & enjoy!

My absolute favourite way to chow down on American pancakes is with the help of Maple Syrup & a good dollop of Crème Fraiche. Or of course you can fry up some crispy streaky bacon if you want to go all out!