Pre-fire your ESSE to somewhere between hot and very hot
Serves
Makes around 15 pancakes
Ingredients
- Plain flour – 250g
- Free-range eggs – 2
- Fresh milk – 500ml
- A little Sunflower oil for frying
- A pinch of salt
Method
Sift the flour and salt into the mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the flour and break in the eggs.
Pour in half the milk and start to mix the eggs and milk with the balloon whisk, whisking in the flour from the edges a little at a time. Add the rest of the milk and keep on whisking until there are no more lumps of flour. Pour the batter into the jug. It may still be quite thick at this stage so whisk in extra milk just a little at a time until you get the right consistency – not quite as thick as single cream, but certainly thicker than milk!
Put a non-stick frying pan on the hotter of the 2 plates. Add about a tablespoon of sunflower oil, swirl it round the pan and then pour the excess into the cup so that just a slick of oil stays in the pan.
When the oil is hot pour a little of the batter into the pan. How much to pour really depends on the size of your pan but you need to leave plenty of room for the pancake to spread out (use a ladle if it helps you to judge the right amount of liquid each time). Immediately tilt and rotate the pan so that the batter runs across the base and doesn’t sit in a big lump in the middle.
As the pancake sets, loosen the edge of it with the palette knife. Shake the pan gently so that you know the pancake hasn’t stuck (a bit of work with the knife if it has; don’t worry, the first one often does). Flip the pancake over and cook the other side for a few seconds – the second side is much quicker to cook. (Notice the intricate patterns left behind by the hot oil; each one different, like a fingerprint.)
Slide the pancake out of the pan and on to a warm plate. Cook the rest of the pancakes as before.
Note for ‘Flippers’: Flipping is the best bit so don’t be afraid to give it a go… give the pan a vigorous shake to make sure the pancake is not sticking, then use the side of the pan as a launch ramp and remember it takes less effort than you think. You want to ‘land it’ not attach it to the ceiling! Always use a non-stick pan and make sure it’s not too heavy otherwise you will find them hard to flip. Hopefully you’ll be up for giving the flip a go but if not, you can turn your pancakes with the palette knife or a wide spatula.
Serve with: Caster sugar, freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice, strawberry jam, honey, lemon curd or anything you like.
