I very rarely admit to people that I don’t like pancakes, but when I’m often put on the spot and asked about my favourite toppings around Pancake Day, I just have to come clean.
After many years of justifying why I only like the American style, I can almost predict people’s reaction when I break the news to them.
It almost feels like a crime to say as a Brit, I’m just not fussed about Pancake Day.
In fact recently, my fiancé’s mum arranged a surprise pancake-making birthday breakfast for him and I dreaded it.
@uktoday_ Try this cheap and easy @Jamie Oliver one-cup recipe for the most perfect pancakes 🥞 #pancakeday #uknews #easyrecipe ♬ Pancake - Melodion
I embarrassingly picked around the crepe and sneakily ate the fruit on top before offering my pancake to someone else as I was “too full”.
But this made me realise there must be a recipe out there that could please my taste buds because sometimes I don’t even believe myself when I say I don’t like them.
I’m not even sure why that is, but over the years I’ve never had a good crêpe that wasn’t too eggy, too bland, too sweet – the list goes on.
I think I prefer American pancakes because they are more like a cake (which says a lot about me) and I love how fluffy and dough-like they are.
Growing up, my mum always used to have Scotch pancakes in the kitchen (in their dozens) and they were what I was always used to.
However, this Jamie Oliver one-cup pancake recipe that I came across might have just changed everything.
I don't like pancakes but this Jamie Oliver recipe has changed my mind
Not only was it cheap (82p per serving following the exact recipe with Tesco ingredients) but it was beyond easy and took me around 20 minutes to make from collecting the ingredients to tucking in.
What baffled me even more, was that Jamie’s method didn’t include sugar.
To make Jamie’s one-cup pancakes, you will need:
- 1 cup of self-flour
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 large egg
- A pinch of salt
- Natural yoghurt, blueberries, olive oil (optional)
Yes, that’s it (aside from toppings of your choice).
After wondering what cup size would be best, I realised it didn’t really matter as long as the flour and milk measurements were poured from the same one.
In this batch, I made around seven pancakes (including the first one which was a disaster).
How to make Jamie Oliver's one-cup pancakes
- To make the batter, crack the egg into a large mixing bowl.
- Add the flour, milk and a tiny pinch of sea salt.
- Whisk everything together until you have a lovely, smooth batter.
- Fold through the blueberries, if using.
- Put a large frying pan on a medium heat and after a minute or so, add ½ tablespoon of oil.
- Carefully tilt the pan to spread the oil out evenly.
- Add a few ladles of batter to the pan, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to spread out slightly – each ladleful will make one pancake, and you’ll need to cook them in batches.
- Cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes, or until little bubbles appear on the surface and the bases are golden, then use a fish slice to carefully flip them over.
- When the pancakes are golden on both sides, use a fish slice to transfer the pancakes to a plate.
- Repeat steps 5 to 9 with the remaining batter, adding ½ tablespoon of oil to the pan between batches, if needed.
- Serve the pancakes straight away with toppings.
Instead of putting blueberries in my pancakes, I sprinkled them on top along with strawberries.
I also replaced natural yoghurt with a drizzle of maple syrup and a few blobs of squirty cream.
What is the secret to good pancakes?
When it came to the taste test, I think it’s safe to say I won’t be forgetting my first mouthful in a hurry.
Bizarrely, I didn’t notice the missing sugar which was probably due to the amount of fruit, cream and syrup I used, but I prefer to get my sugar fix this way (I absolutely cannot stand sprinkled sugar on or in anything).
The pancakes had that slightly cakey texture which I think was helped by using self-raising flour – a 10/10 from me.
Recommended reading:
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Even better, there was no overpowering egg taste.
Not only did it give me hope for Pancake Day this year, but it might be the quickest, mess-free, minimal equipment recipe I’ve ever followed.
Who knows what other one-cup wonders Jamie Oliver has up his sleeve?
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