American Pancakes: Plain, Blueberry or Gluten Free!

Pancake day was this week in the UK and it reminded me that I had not made American Pancakes in quite some time... something I rectified immediately this weekend :) These pancakes are a great Saturday morning treat, taste amazing, and are ridiculously easy to make. You can make them plain, or add blueberries for a real wow factor. I once experimented with making these gluten free, by using cornflour, and it worked well - though since cornflour has a distinctive taste, it is best to add blueberries or other fruits.

When cooking, the mixture will spread out before rising, so it helps to use a small pan. This is particularly true if using cornflour as the batter will be thinner. Serve these with maple syrup - or if you don't want to shell out for it as its pricey, golden syrup also tastes great.

Edit: A commenter on the blog suggested that buckwheat flour is a good alternative for those wanting a gluten free option, so you may want to use this instead of cornflour; I may be experimenting with it myself in the future!

Makes around 4 small pancakes

Ingredients:

135g (5 oz) plain flour (use approx 180g cornflour if gluten free.)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
130ml (4 1/2 fl oz) milk
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp melted butter/olive oil, plus extra for cooking
1 pack blueberries (optional)

Instructions:

1. Sieve flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add sugar and mix.

2. Add the milk, egg and oil/butter, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Keep an eye on the consistency if using corn flour as it can easily be too thin.

4. If using blueberries, add in to the batter mix now.

5. In a small pan, heat up a little bit of oil on a medium hear. Add a ladle full of batter mix. Leave to cook. The batter will rise as the pancake cooks, and it will be ready to flip once you start to see bubbles rise on the pancake. When cooking, keep an eye on the heat; it may take you a while to learn the optimum heat.

6. When done, transfer to a plate and eat immediately, or if you prefer to eat more than one at a time, wrap in aluminium foil, stacking the pancakes within the foil until all are cooked. Eat and enjoy!