We Love Pancakes

Hmm, pancakes.

My mum makes the best pancakes ever. Unfortunately she lives 12,000 miles away, so I'll have to make them again this year.

Thankfully I'll have some help. The lovely Kim Hong at Fleishman Hillard sent me a goody bag containing everything I'll need to make pancakes.

The goody bag included a cuddly lion, called Lyle. Presley pronounces Lyle as Lilo. It makes me chuckle every time I hear him.

I was also sent the recipe for The Perfect Pancake:

1.     If you can, make your batter either the night before Pancake Day or on the morning of the day, to let the flour in the batter relax – it makes much better pancakes.

2.     For an extra rich batter, place a small cup full of eggs, of milk and of flour into a bowl and whisk very well until smooth.

3.     Grate the zest of an orange into the batter when you make it – it gives a lovely fresh zing to the pancakes.

4.     Add 3-4 tbsp of Lyle’s Golden Syrup to the batter when you make it, taking care to whisk the batter well, for an extra luxuriousness.

5.     Whatever size pan you use, you want the batter to be about 2mm thick in the bottom of the pan – so it coats it but you can’t see through it.

6.     Remember: Unless you’re very lucky, then first pancake will most likely stick - this is perfectly normal – don’t worry! Give it to the dog.....

7.     Clean the frying pan out with a little kitchen roll, and add more butter each time – you’re less likely to get burnt bits that way.

8.     You can make a whole batch in advance – either:

o     Keep them warm or reheat them – just place them onto an oven tray with a piece of greaseproof paper between each one, stacking them up as you cook them.

o     Cover them with cling film and put them in the fridge for 1-2 days.

o     Discard the tray, wrap them in cling film and freeze them – they will keep in the freezer for 1 month. Defrost them in the fridge for a couple of hours before they are needed.

9.     To reheat the chilled pancakes, heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, place them in stacks of 3 onto an oven tray, cover with foil and heat for 10-15 minutes until hot.

10.  Alternatively, place 4 onto a plate, cover with cling film and heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (dependent on your microwave).

You can find out more at welovepancakes.co.uk and at lylesgoldensyrup.com


I hope my nice ex reads my blog. He could do with this recipe. He once made a batch of pancake batter with six eggs.  In case you were wondering, yes, omelette with lemon and sugar is disgusting!