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    John Whaite's pancakes with brown butter, vanilla & lemon

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    John Whaite's pancakes with brown butter, vanilla & lemon

    The best ratio for perfect pancakes every time is so simple. It’s just 1 part flour to 2 parts milk to 2 parts egg. But the most important thing to remember is that this is for weight and not volume, so a decent set of kitchen scales is key. A large egg weighs roughly 60g, so you can easily adjust the recipe depending on how many eggs you’ve got or the amount of batter you wish to make.  

    • Preparation time: 5 minutes + resting
    • Cooking time: 20 minutes

    Makes: 6 (depending on the size of your pan)

    Ingredients

    115g plain flour
    225g whole milk
    4 British Blacktail Large Eggs (about 225g when cracked)
    Sunflower oil, for frying

    For the butter
    60g unsalted butter
    1 unwaxed lemon, zest
    1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
    2 tbsp maple syrup, or use caster sugar
    Raspberries, to serve, optional 

    Method

    1 To make the batter, sift the flour, plus ½ tsp fine salt into a mixing bowl. In a jug, whisk the milk and eggs together, then add gradually to the flour while you whisk – it’s easier to eliminate any lumps in the batter while it’s still thick, so pour slowly. Leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes, at room temperature, or cover with a plate and keep in the fridge overnight.

    2 When you’re ready to make the pancakes, heat a frying pan or crepe pan over a medium heat – don’t let the pan get too hot or the pancakes will stick and burn. Add a little oil to the pan – I wipe it into a thin, even sheen on the surface of the frying pan with a piece of kitchen roll, but be careful of your fingers.

    3 Take a ladleful of batter and add it to the pan, swirling the pan as the batter goes in to evenly distribute it. Fry until the pancake starts to set, when it will start to become less shiny and more a satin matte in appearance. Flip, in whichever way suits you, and fry for a few more moments more until the underside is lightly coloured. Fold the pancake in half, then in half again and set between two plates to keep warm while you fry the remaining batter.

    4 When the pancakes are all ready, make the butter. Put the butter into a small saucepan and set over a high heat. Allow the butter to melt and bubble, swirling the pan occasionally. When the bubbling stops and the butter has a fine foam on the surface and smells nutty, remove it from the heat and add the lemon zest and vanilla seeds. Pour the butter over the pancakes and drizzle over the maple syrup. Serve with raspberries, if liked.  

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