No fuss fliptastic pancakes: crêpes over après ski

From the satisfaction of getting that first ‘flip’ right to unbuttoning your trousers post consumption of a delicious stack, what is not to love about pancakes? If it was good enough for our prehistoric ancestors, it is good enough for us. Discovered in the stomach of late Otzi the Iceman by archaeologists, the humble pancake has managed to sustain its reputation long enough to earn itself a whole day in celebration. Straying away from the engrossing topic of our ancestors’ digestive system, let’s have a look at how we can go about making that perfect stack of pancakes.

Now what I call pancakes are what the French call crêpes. Magnificently thin, filled with the likes of cheese, chocolate, fruit or with nothing at all (naked pancakes make for scrummy snacks), rolled up in the likeness of an indulgent cigar: it is what I and many call, “one of life’s simple pleasures”.  

Now let’s get measuring(ish) and whisking!

Ingredients for batter:

Sidenote: this batter is utterly brilliant and is the (now-not-so-well-kept) secret of my Polish flatmate’s grandma

P.S. 250ml in non-metric convenient terms is about an average sized glass

• 250ml of milk (dairy or non-dairy, won’t make a difference)
• 250ml of water
• 2 eggs, if you are vegan you can replace this with vegan egg powder, or whipped aquafaba (water in which lentils are soaked) for a neutral taste, or bananas if making sweet pancakes
• 500g of flour ( you might have to eye ball this and take a judgement call)
• 85ml Vegetable oil a.k.a the magic ingredient ( can use other oils!)

Method for batter:

• Whack all ingredients stated above in a bowl and stir away! I love doing tasks in the kitchen that don’t require too much dexterity but still make you feel accomplished!

The consistency of the batter should be like soflty whipped cream that is a bit runny. You might have to add more flour or milk depending on the thickness.

Method for pancakes:

• Grease the pan (you only need to do this for the first one)
• Scoop your batter in a ladle and pour it into the centre of the pan, very calmly. Drop the ladle back into the batter bowl.
• Now grab the pan and swoosh the batter into a circle(ish) according to the desired level of thickness.
• Wait for 2 minutes and then grab your pan, with a sense of determination and gumption, and flip that pancake with sheer confidence.
• Do not be disheartened if the first pancake is a scrambled mess. It is only the first one, the next ones will be better. I mean, that’s what my parents said after their first kid and then they had me……but your pancake will not use self-deprecating humour as a coping mechanism, so you have nothing to be afraid of!
• Give the other side another minute and slide it onto a plate. Be a proud parent!
• Now the magic begins, you no longer need to grease the pan!
• Just pour, swoosh the batter, wait 2 minutes and flip!

I highly encourage you to try and do as many flips as you can!

Now this was all about the pancakes, but what do you put inside? Well, the answer is: anything you love, really!

My top choices in a preferred order

1. Chocolate sauce, blueberries and cinnamon
2. Orange segments, cream and orange liquor. Can you guess what my favourite fruit is?
3. Feta and spinach
4. Apple jam and cinnamon
5. So much Cheese!!!

I hope this recipe makes you feel like you are somewhere in France, sitting on one of those wobbly tables on the cobblestone streets, just enjoying a perfectly satisfactory meal! I wish you good luck for those Olympic level pancake flips! Remember to get messy and wear loose trousers!

Image: RitaE via Pixabay