Holy crêpe, it’s that time of the year again, so to celebrate, here are some brilliant pancake recipes and tips straight from the heads of four of Brighton’s best chefs. (Prefer to leave the whisk in the cupboard? Check out our guide to where to get pancakes here.)
Pancakes with lemon curd topping (a LOST favourite) Makes around 10 (fool-proof and child-friendly!) crêpes
Batter ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 and half cups milk
25g butter (melted)
Method: Blend it all together with a stick blender
Lemon curd topping ingredients:
4 lemons
4 yolks
1 whole egg
150g sugar
200g butter
Method: 1. Over a bain-marie, whisk the sugar and eggs together until thickened 2. Zest the lemons and add the juice, then the butter 3. Whisk until the mixture has thickened 4. Finally, add the lemon zest 5. Fry up your pancakes, add the topping and enjoy!
Fluffy buttermilk pancakes Makes around 10-12 crêpes
Ingredients:
Dry mix:
220g all-purpose flour
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 pinch salt
Wet mix:
30g butter (melted)
4 large eggs (separate the egg yolk and whites)
470ml buttermilk
1 tbsp caster sugar
Method:
Sieve the flour into a large bowl to make sure there are no lumps
Add the rest of the dry ingredients and sieve again
In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and add the buttermilk, folding into the egg whites gently until mixed
In another bowl, mix the egg yolk and sugar until the sugar is incorporated, then add the cooled, melted butter to the egg yolk mix
Add the yolk mix to the egg white mix, gently whisking the two
Fold the sieved flour in to the egg mix using a large spoon and refrigerate for 10 minutes
Take a large, flat, non-stick pan, put in on the hob on a medium-high heat and add 1/2 tsp of butter. Let the butter melt and then, using a large spoon, place a cookie-sized amount of the pancake mix into the pan. Don’t press or move the mix until you see bubbles forming in the middle or browning on the bottom
Flip over and cook for and other 2 minutes
Plate and enjoy!
Toppings:
For toppings, Jonel recommends classic maple syrup. If you’re after something more exciting, he suggests adding blueberries to the mix and cooking as above. Alternatively, add chopped chocolate to the mix and, once cooked, serve with Nutella and banana slices. Yum!
Rather than a recipe for pancake mix (you can use one of the recipes above), Holly has shared details of how to make Kindling’s delicious cultured butter, which works brilliantly as a pancake topping!
Ingredients:
125g of live yogurt
600g double cream
1.7g of Maldon salt per 100g of butter
Equipment:
Large bowl
Cheesecloth
Butter churn or large jar with lid
Butter paddle or spatula
Method:
Place the cream and the yogurt into a mixing bowl, mix well, pop cling film over it, and leave it somewhere warm for 36 hours to ferment
The next day, chill the fermented cream in the fridge for 2 hours
Put the chilled butter into a butter churn and churn until it splits into butter and buttermilk. (If you don’t have a churn, half-fill a jar with a tight-fitting lid with the butter mixture and shake – this is a great one to get the kids involved in, just make sure those lids are tight!)
This should take 3-5 minutes with the churn. If shaking, it will depend on how vigorous you are!
Strain the butter through the cheesecloth
Put the buttermilk to one side – you can use it instead of yogurt in your next batch.
Fill a sink with iced water and wash the butter in the iced water, manipulating it to release as much buttermilk as possible
Once the butter has firmed up (and the water is cloudy with buttermilk), transfer the butter to a double layer of cheesecloth and squeeze out as much remaining water as possible, without forcing the butter through the cheesecloth
Weigh the butter and calculate the required amount of salt (you need 1.7g of Maldon salt per 100g of butter)
Roughly chop it and sprinkle the salt over it evenly. Gently knead the salt into the butter to ensure the seasoning is even
Not a recipe as such, but these are some of Dan’s favourite pancake toppings, if you’re looking for some more inspo!
Ham, gruyère, gherkin and gochujang mustard These are basically the flavours of the classic Rueben but with a little kick
Banana and miso caramel with a dollop of crème fraîche Dan’s top tip: for a cheat’s caramel, just reduce dark brown sugar with double cream.
Yuzu juice and honey Dan says this is a great alternative to sugar and lemon and takes the classic pancake to the next level.
Biscoff spread and crushed Biscoff biscuits This is basically a Biscoff lover’s dream: you can now buy Biscoff spread from most supermarkets (we’ve spotted it in all the main local ones) – and adding the crushed extra biscuits is great for a crunchy texture.