Make the most of Pancake Day next Tuesday with our tips for the best pancake places and some wonderful recipes from a collection of chefs and brands.
In regards to the best restaurants for pancakes, we cannot recommend Le Pont de la Tour and Pahli Hill enough. Paying homage to the traditional Crêpes Suzette, Le Pont de la Tour at Tower Bridge has a brand-new menu with a different special each month (Classic Orange for March!). If you’re a lover of savoury pancakes, spoil yourself with a table-sized paper Dosa with drumstick, turnip & carrot sambar, turmeric potato, and chutneys at the Pahli Hill in Fitzrovia.
Prefer a cosy night in? Mindful Chef’s Pancake Day specials are here for you! From 27th February-5th March, you can enjoy healthy yet delicious specials such as Kimchi Pancakes with Sustainably Sourced Marinated Smoked Salmon and Chickpea Crepe with Creamy Mushrooms, delivered right to your home.
Now if you fancy a challenge, here are six delicious pancake recipes you can try at home (including tasty vegan options!).
Frenchie Buttermilk Pancakes – Greg Marchand, Frenchie Paris, Covent Garden
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
1.5l buttermilk
1kg flour
150g sugar
75ml sunflower oil
25g baking powder
10g baking soda
10ml vanilla extract
10g salt
5 eggs
Directions:
1. Combine all dry ingredients.
2. Combine all wet ingredients.
3. Mix all ingredients together.
4. Let the dough rest for 30min before use
Classic Crêpes Suzette – Tony Fleming, Executive Chef at Le Pont de la Tour
Ingredients:
Crepe mix:
250g milk
125g flour
15g caster sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
20g melted butter
Instructions:
1. Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the beaten egg and vegetable oil and finally the melted butter.
2. Heat a medium-sized non-stick frying pan until it’s really hot.
3. Add a little block of butter and add a ladle of batter to create a very thin pancake. Cook on medium heat then flip and cook on reverse side.
4. Remove from pan and cool on the side. Continue until all batter is gone.
Ingredients for Caramel syrup:
325g caster sugar
½ lemon
¼ vanilla pod
Pinch of Maldon sea salt
Zest from ½ orange (just peeled)
140g butter
450g orange juice
Instructions:
1. Make a light dry caramel using the caster sugar and add the salt.
2. Stir the caramel with the half lemon using a fork attached to the end of the lemon.
3. Add the zest and vanilla
4. Add the orange juice in 3 stages and bring it to the boil.
5. Add the butter last and pass through a fine sieve.
Orange confit:
Zest of 1 orange
100g caster sugar
100g water
Instructions:
1. Peel the skin with peeler trying not the peel the white bitter parts.
2. Slice to fine strips
3. Boil some water in small pan and add the orange skin.
4. Pass it through a strainer and cool it down with cold water.
5. Repeat this process 2 more times.
6. Bring the sugar and water to the boil add the orange skin and simmer until is candied.
To plate one portion of the Crepe Suzette:
25ml brandy
5 x orange segments
2 crepes
150g caramel syrup per recipe above
1 scoop vanilla ice cream topped with orange confit
Method:
1. Warm a shallow sauté pan and add the syrup.
2. Bring to the boil and add the two crepes, bring back to the boil and add the brandy.
3. Flambee the brandy using an open flame.
4. When the flames have disappeared carry on boiling to achieve a good syrupy sauce.
5. Drop in the orange segments to warm through.
6. Fold the crepes in quarters and arrange on a plate.
7. Spoon over the orange segments with the sauce and serve with the ice cream on the side.
Vegan Pancakes with Blueberry Compote – Dirty Vegan (Dirty Bones)
Buckwheat Pancakes (Makes 500g, roughly 10 pancakes)
100g Buckwheat
100g Plain Flour
40g Rice flour
1 x teaspoon Salt
1 x teaspoon Baking Powder
125g Almond milk
30g Almond yoghurt + extra to serve 40gr per portion
25g Maple Syrup
25g Apple juice
5g White wine vinegar
50g Coconut oil
Blueberry compote (recipe below) allow roughly 100g per serve
Blueberry Compote
500g fresh blueberries
200g caster sugar
200ml water
Blueberry Compote Method:
1. In a heavy-based pan mix the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for roughly 3 mins until it starts to turn a light brown colour.
2. Drop in the berries and simmer for 30 seconds, stirring so all the berries are coated. Remove from the heat and leave to cool to room temperature.
Buckwheat Pancakes Method:
1. Sieve the flours, salt and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle.
2. Mix the almond milk, yogurt, apple juice and vinegar.
3. Pour this mixture into the well and using a wooden/plastic spoon bring the mix together to form a paste.
4. Melt the coconut oil in a pan and cool slightly, pour into the mix, drizzle in the maple syrup and use a whisk to beat the mixture to a smooth consistency.
5. Heat a non-stick pan till hot and add a very fine coat of vegetable/sunflower oil. Cook the pancakes in batches using roughly 50g of mix per pancake for 2 mins on each side. The aim is to slowly pour the mix into the pan, so you have a raised pancake.
6. Keep warm.
7. When ready to serve stack the pancakes in a tower of 3, top with almond yoghurt and the blueberry compote.
8. Enjoy!
The Ultimate Chocolatey Peanut Pancake Stack – Mindful Chef
Ingredients:
300ml oat milk
200g Mindful Chef Organic Scottish Porridge Oats
2 tbsp of coconut sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp of baking powder
ManiLife Rich Cocoa peanut butter
Berries
Fresh mint
Method:
1. Start by blending your oats into a fine flour.
2. In a bowl, mix the flour, eggs, sugar, milk and baking powder till smooth.
3. Heat a pan on a medium/ low heat with 1 tsp of oil.
4. Ladle the mixture into the pan a couple of pancakes at a time, turn after to 2-3 mins, then flip again for 1 more minute till golden and fluffy.
5. Repeat till all your mixture is used up.
6. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of ManiLife, then garnish with berries and a sprig of mint.
Rye pancakes with rhubarb compote and vanilla ice cream – Luke French, JÖRO
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
90 organic rye flour
110g organic white flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 pinch table salt
250ml Jersey milk
2 free-range eggs
60g melted butter
Vanilla ice cream, to serve
For the rhubarb compote
250g rhubarb, chopped into 2cm pieces (stalks only)
85g golden caster sugar
25g water
Method
1. Place the rhubarb, sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb breaks down to a marmalade-like consistency.
2. When the mix has cooled, transfer it to a container and keep in the fridge until needed.
3. To make the pancakes combine and mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, then gradually whisk in the milk, eggs and half of the melted butter to a smooth batter. Leave it covered and rest in the fridge for half an hour.
4. When you’re ready to cook the pancakes, heat a heavy-based non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, use enough of the melted butter to coat the pan, then add a good spoonful of the pancake batter and gently spread it out into a circle with the back of the spoon. Cook for about 2 min on each side, until golden. Repeat this process until you have used all the batter.
5. Arrange the pancakes on serving dishes, and top with some of the rhubarb compote and some of the ice cream.
Shaun Rankin’s American Style Pancakes with Honey, Greek Yoghurt & Pecan Nuts – Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall
The beauty of these pancakes is that you can pre-cook them and then just flash them for 20 seconds in the microwave to reheat when you’re ready to eat them. Perfect if you’ve got a busy family or many mouths to feed!
Ingredients – Serves 6 (makes 12)
2 eggs
220g caster sugar
180g unsalted butter, melted
340g plain flour, sifted
½ tsp baking powder
450ml milk
1 tsp vanilla essence
To serve:
Pecan nuts
Honey
Blueberries
Plain yoghurt
Method:
1. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl
2. Add the butter, flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla essence. Mix well, making sure there are no lumps
3. Heat a dry non-stick frying pan and pour in half a ladle of batter, immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter evenly
4. Cook until the edges begin to colour and small bubbles appear all over the surface, and then flip the pancakes over
5. Cook for a few moments on the other side before sliding onto a plate
6. To serve, top with pecan nuts, honey, blueberries and natural yoghurt