Pancake Day (9th February) is crêpe-ing up on us and our spatulas should be at the ready, but alarming new research reveals that one in five Brits don’t actually know how to make pancakes from scratch. Despite this, a whopping 92% of Brits agree that homemade pancakes taste better than their store-bought counterparts, according to the research* from Lyle’s Golden Syrup.
Lyle’s Golden Syrup has jumped to the rescue with some easy to follow top tips and delicious recipes for mastering the perfect pancake – it’s not as flippin’ hard as you think.
Lyle’s Golden Syrup Top Tips for the Perfect Pancakes
- Follow a recipe – first things first, mastering the perfect pancake requires precision. Don’t try and be a maverick – it might seem obvious, but make sure you follow a recipe to perfect the proportions of ingredients and ensure your pancake flips, not flops. You can visithttp://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/ for a selection of mouth-watering pancake recipes
- Perfect your batter with the right utensils – raid the drawers for a large whisky or beg, borrow and steal from a neighbour. A large whisk will ensure the right amount of air is whipped into your pancakes so they’re deliciously fluffy, not chewy
- Invest in a good pan – using a good quality non-stick pan is key to flipping with ease and achieving the pancake praise you’re after. Make sure it’s also a wide heavy-bottomed pan—if your pan is too thin, your pancakes will burn and will only be good or the bin
- Don’t flip until your pancakes are holey-y – most of us look out for bubbles as a flipping cue, but this is only half the story. Get ready to flip when the bubbles pop and the form holes that remain open on the surface. If the holes fill up with batter again, they’re not quite ripe! And remember, flip once and only once to avoid a tough pancake!
- Get creative with your toppings – now for the fun part where you can really get your creative toppings flowing. Anything squirty and squeezey always goes down a treat, but it’s all about personal preference. Whether you’re a stacker or a roller, a sweet tooth or a savoury person, let your imagination go wild
Carrot Cake Pancake:
Enjoy the flavour of carrot cake – in a pancake! These are quick-to-make and a treat to eat.
Preparation10 mins
Cooking 10 mins
Serves 2 (3 pancakes each)
INGREDIENTS
100g wholemeal self-raising flour
¼ tsp ground mixed spice
20g Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar
1 large egg
100g grated carrot
4 tbsp low fat plain yogurt
100ml milk
50g sultanas or raisins
3-4 tsp vegetable oil
FOR THE TOPPING
100g low fat soft cheese or mascarpone
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 orange
1 tsp Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar
Lyle’s Golden Syrup, for drizzling
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
1 Put the flour, mixed spice, Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar, egg, grated carrot, yogurt and milk into a large mixing bowl and use a hand whisk or fork to mix everything together thoroughly. Stir in the sultanas or raisins.
2 Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add 2-3 drops of oil. Cook tablespoons of the batter in batches, turning them over after 1-2 minutes to cook the other sides. Make 8 small pancakes altogether, adding a few more drops of oil to the frying pan with each batch.
3 For the topping, mix together the soft cheese and vanilla extract. Finely grate the orange zest and add 1 tsp to the mixture with the Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar. Peel and segment the orange, removing all the pith. Serve with the warm pancakes and drizzle with Lyle’s Golden Syrup, sprinkling a little more orange zest.
Cook’s tip: You could use white self-raising flour, though wholemeal provides more fibre.
Breakfast Pancakes with Crispy Bacon
Serves 2
2 eggs
5 – 7 tbsp milk
150g/5oz self-raising flour
2 tbsp Tate & Lyle® Caster Sugar
1/2 tsp salt
vegetable oil, for shallow frying
150g pack sliced pancetta
4 tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup®
coarsely ground black pepper
Whisk together the eggs and milk. Place the flour, sugar and salt in large bowl, make a well in the centre, pour in the liquid and mix beat with wooden spoon to make a smooth, thick batter. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a non-stick frying pan until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper.
Heat a little oil in a separate frying pan. Carefully drop large spoonfuls of the pancake mixture into the hot frying pan and cook for 2 minutes until crisp and golden.
Slide the pancakes onto serving plates and top with the bacon. Drizzle over the golden syrup, sprinkle with pepper and serve.
TIP: Pancetta is a smoked, streaky Italian bacon usually available sliced wafer-thin or roughly diced. If you can¹t get hold of it, use regular smoked streaky bacon.
DAIRY-FREE OAT & RASPBERRY PANCAKES
Not every pancake needs to be made with milk! So for those with a dairy intolerance, try these oat milk pancakes with crushed raspberries, drizzled with Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Yum!
Preparation10 mins
Cooking 10 mins
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
120g plain flour
40g porridge oats
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar
1 large egg
300ml oat milk
100g raspberries (thawed if frozen)
3-4 tsp vegetable oil
FOR THE TOPPING
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
100g raspberries (thawed if frozen)
Lyle’s Golden Syrup, for drizzling
Fine shreds of lemon zest
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
1 Put the flour, porridge oats, salt, Tate & Lyle Golden Caster Sugar, egg and oat milk into a large mixing bowl and use a hand whisk to mix everything together thoroughly. Stir in the raspberries, crushing them slightly.
2 Heat a non-stick pancake pan or frying pan over a medium heat. Add a few drops of oil. Pour in one quarter of the batter, tilting the pan so that it flows over the surface. Cook for 1-2 minutes until set on the surface, then turn over to cook the other side for a further 1-2 minutes.
3 Make 4 pancakes altogether, adding a few more drops of oil to the pan with each one, and keeping the cooked pancakes in a warm place.
4 For the topping, toast the sunflower seeds in a dry frying pan for about 1 minute, tossing to turn them, Sprinkle them onto the warm pancakes with the raspberries and drizzle with Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Finish off with a few shreds of lemon zest.
Cook’s tip: You could use almond milk instead of oat milk for another dairy-free option.
LOVE THOSE PANCAKES!
This is such a fun idea for pancakes – perfect for Shrove Tuesday or Valentine’s Day! Chocolate flavoured pancake batter is ‘drawn’ into a heart-shape over the base of the pancake pan, then plain batter is poured on top and cooked. When turned out, the heart-shape is revealed. Flipping clever!
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 12-15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
150g plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 tsp Tate & Lyle Caster Sugar
2 eggs
350ml milk
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, blended with 3 tbsp hot water
A few drops of vegetable oil
DECORATION:
150g strawberries, halved
100g blueberries
Lyle’s Golden Syrup, for drizzling
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE
1 Put the flour, salt, caster sugar, eggs and milk into a mixing bowl and whisk together to make a smooth batter. Pour about one quarter of this batter into a separate bowl and beat in the cocoa mixture to make chocolate batter.
2 Put the chocolate batter into a squeezy bottle (you could use a rinsed-out washing up bottle for this). Heat a non-stick frying pan and add a few drops of vegetable oil. Remove from the heat. Using the squeezy bottle, carefully ‘draw’ a heart shape over the base of the pan. Heat gently until just set.
3 Ladle plain batter over and around the surface of the heart shape. Cook lightly until the batter just sets on the surface, then flip the pancake over to reveal the heart shape on the cooked side. Cook for another 1-2 minutes, then turn out onto a warm plate. Make 4 pancakes like this, keeping them in a warm place as you make them.
4 Serve the pancakes with strawberries and blueberries, drizzled with syrup.
Cook’s tip: Get creative! Draw several heart shapes with the chocolate batter before pouring in the plain batter. Or ‘draw’ whatever you like!
So tell me what do you like to have on your pancake?
