Nana's Famous Pancake Recipe

Today is without doubt one of my favourite days of the year – pancake day.

I  love pancakes! Now, I am not talking crepes, which are lovely in their own right, but they are not a pancake and we all know it! A however a Scottish pancake is a thing of pure beauty - these are thick, moist, sweet, fluffy little morsels of deliciousness.

Believe it or not pancakes are very important in my family. In fact MrG was quite insistent early on in our relationship that it was vitally important that I learn to make the family recipe directly from his Nana!

So off I trooped to deepest darkest Aberdeenshire in search of the secrets of the perfect pancake. I spend the day watching Nana make her lush fluffy little clouds of comforting heaven. She baked and talked while I measured and documented for my future use. It took me a few attempts to get them right but now I have this recipe down perfectly  It’s also worth mentioning that we got engaged that evening….coincidence? I think not!

What really took this recipe to the next level was my Dad giving me my Grannies skillet, which is goodness only knows how many decades old. I don’t know how or why but cooking the pancakes this way makes them taste better. They seem to cook more evenly and definitely rise better. A frying pan will certainly do the job for you but if you can get your hands on an older relatives skillet grab it with both hands.

As you can imagine this is a very special recipe to me, and I wanted to share it with you incase you were thinking about making some delicious fresh pancakes today. Believe me when I tell you pancake recipes don’t come much better or loved that this one.

Happy Pancake Day!

Ingredients

450g  Self Raising Flour 115g Caster Sugar Pinch of Salt 1tsp Baking Powder 40g Unsalted Butter 3 Eggs 300ml Whole Milk 2 tbsp of Golden Syrup

Step 1: Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mix. Using your fingertips crumb the butter and flour mixture together until you create a breadcrumb like texture

Step 2: Measure out the milk into a jug. Add the 3 eggs to the milk and beat with a fork until well combined.

Step 3: Add the milk mixture and Golden Syrup to the flour and using a wooden spoon beat the mixture until well combined and lump free. Don’t be tempted to use an electric mixer, the mixture needs to be aerated with hand beating.

Step 4: Heat your skillet/frying pan over a medium/low heat, add a teaspoon of butter and allow to melt.

Step 5: Spoon a test tablespoon of mixture onto the middle of your pan. It’s important to do a test pancake to allow you to adjust the heat. The pancake will take about 1.5/2 minutes a side to cook, you will know when it is ready to be flipped as small air bubble will start to appear on the uncooked side of the mixture. Flip the pancake, don’t worry if it burns just turn down the heat. You will know when the pancake is cooked fully because if you press down on the pancake it will feel sponge and give a little resistance rather than squidgy.

Step 6: Once you have the heat right start cooking the pancakes in batches of 3 or 4 using a tablespoon of mixture for each pancake. Add a knob of butter every other batch of pancakes to keep the pan well oiled. Also remember to keep a close eye on the pancakes as they will burn very quickly.

Eat the pancakes as soon as they come off the heat for maximum enjoyment.