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How to make the best pancakes - English style!

Too many eggs and not enough recipes? Here's a very simple homemade pancake mix which takes minutes to make from scratch and is delicious to eat.

How to make English style pancakes from scratch. Pin for later.

There's really no need for a store-bought mix - you're better off without all those additives.

Fresh eggs from your own backyard chickens, a good quality organic flour and an unwaxed lemon is the way to go - and much less expensive.

Pancakes, crêpes and the UK.

Traditionally, pancakes in England are thin and usually eaten rolled up, dressed with sugar and a squeeze of the juice of a fresh lemon.

Elsewhere, they'd probably be called "crêpes" and eaten with a variety of fillings, both sweet and savoury.

I love the English version, though. Even the sight of them makes my mouth water.

'Pancake Tuesday' - also known as 'Shrove Tuesday' - in the UK (and 'Mardi Gras' elsewhere) is the day before Ash Wednesday. Traditionally, it's the day when pancakes are eaten in the UK, at least at one meal.

Historically this has a religious background - eating all the rich foods before the beginning of 40 days' fasting during Lent.

How easy is it to make this style of pancake?

When I was young and about to leave home, I'd tell my family "You'll miss my pancakes when I'm gone".

Why? Because English pancakes are so, so easy to make - they were about the only thing I could cook successfully.

To this day - many years later - I make them every Pancake Tuesday and occasional days in between. And I am not known for my cooking skills!

That's how easy they are.

English pancakes served with sugar and lemon juice.

English pancakes - thinner than the US version and served with lemon and sugar.

Ingredients.

This is plenty for 4 - 6 pancakes in a 10" pan.

100 grammes (3.5 oz / 0.75 cup) flour

2 fresh eggs

300 mls (0.5 pint / just over 1 cup) milk

A small amount of olive oil

Sugar and lemon juice for topping.

Ingredients for a simple pancake recipe:eggs, milk, sugar, lemon on a worksurface.

Making homemade pancake batter.

Measure the flour into a bowl, make a 'well' in the middle and add your eggs...

An egg in the centre of flour making the pancake batter.

No need to beat them first, although you can if you want. Add a dash of milk into the well.

Using a hand whisk and starting at the centre, pull in some flour from the walls of the well, a little at a time until all the flour is mixed in.

Beat the mix well, adding in the rest of the milk. Don't over-beat it - it will make the pancakes hard.

When it's done you'll see lots of air bubbles - like this.

Now leave the batter to stand for at least 30 minutes. It makes it much easier to cook with.

You can prepare the batter several hours in advance and leave it covered with a cloth until you're ready to eat.

How to cook your pancakes (crêpes).

Take a non-stick frying pan (you can buy special pancake pans but I just use my favourite heavy-duty Le Creuset model) and add about a teaspoon of a good quality olive oil.

Heat it on a medium setting, swirling the oil around until it coats the pan. Use kitchen towel to make sure it's completely covered and wipe off any excess oil. Otherwise the pancake will be too greasy.