These fluffy American pancakes are the thick, soft kind that stack high. The batter is mixed in the dispenser, rested for 5 minutes and poured straight into the pan in neat rounds, so ten are ready in about 20 minutes for a drizzle of honey, strawberries and blackberries.
Why this works
Mixing until no dry flour is left, and no further, keeps the pancakes tender. Beating out every lump works the gluten in the flour and gives flat, chewy pancakes.
Five minutes of rest lets the flour soak up the milk and the baking powder start to fizz, so the batter thickens and the pancakes rise tall. A medium heat cooks the middle through before the outside darkens.
Key ingredients
- Baking powder. It gives the lift, so check the date on the tub. Old baking powder makes flat pancakes.
- Milk. Whole or semi skimmed. Buttermilk makes them tangier and even fluffier (see the swaps).
- Butter. Melted into the batter for flavour, and wiped thinly round the pan so the pancakes brown evenly.
- Honey. Runny honey pours from the dispenser in a thin stream. Maple syrup works the same way.
Amounts for 2 to 9 people are in the recipe card below, in grams or cups.
Method
- 01
Mix the batter in the dispenser
Melt the butter. Pour the milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla into the batter dispenser, then add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Fit the lid and turn the crank until no dry flour is left; a few small lumps are fine.
Pancake Batter Dispenser - 02
Rest and heat the pan
Leave the batter for 5 minutes while a large nonstick frying pan heats over a medium heat. Hull the strawberries with the huller and halve them; the batter thickens a little as it stands.
Strawberry Huller - 03
Grease the pan
Rub a little butter round the hot pan, then wipe most of it off with kitchen paper. Too much fat gives the first pancakes patchy, lacy edges.
- 04
Pour the pancakes
Hold the dispenser a little above the pan and squeeze the trigger to pour rounds about 10 cm across, leaving space between them. Cook for about 2 minutes, until bubbles rise and pop on the surface and the edges look set.
Pancake Batter Dispenser - 05
Flip and stack
Turn each pancake with a thin spatula and cook for 1 minute more, until golden underneath. Stack them on a plate under a clean tea towel and carry on, wiping a little more butter round the pan every couple of batches.
- 06
Top and serve
Pile the pancakes high, top with the strawberries, blackberries and a few mint leaves, and drizzle honey over the stack from the dispenser.
Honey Dispenser
What to serve it with
Berries and honey, as here, or crispy streaky bacon and maple syrup for a sweet and salty stack. For a savoury brunch alongside, make shakshuka.
Storing and reheating
- Fridge
- Cool, then keep covered for up to 2 days.
- Freezer
- Freeze with baking paper between them for up to 2 months.
- Reheat
- In the toaster or a dry frying pan for a minute or two, until hot all the way through.
Questions
Usually the batter was overmixed or the baking powder is old. Stir only until the flour disappears, and check the date on the tub.
Keep it in the fridge for up to an hour. After that the baking powder loses its fizz and the pancakes rise less.
Stack them on a plate under a clean tea towel while you cook the rest, or keep them in a low oven.
Yes. Cool them, freeze them with baking paper between each one for up to 2 months, and reheat from frozen in the toaster.
Recipe
Fluffy American pancakes in 20 minutes
Thick, fluffy pancakes from a batter mixed in the dispenser, poured into neat rounds and stacked with berries and honey. By Maya Brooks.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Makes
- 10 pancakes
Ingredients
For the batter
To serve
Method
- 01Melt the butter. Pour the milk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla into the batter dispenser, then add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Fit the lid and turn the crank until no dry flour is left; a few small lumps are fine.
- 02Leave the batter for 5 minutes while a large nonstick frying pan heats over a medium heat. Hull the strawberries with the huller and halve them; the batter thickens a little as it stands.
- 03Rub a little butter round the hot pan, then wipe most of it off with kitchen paper. Too much fat gives the first pancakes patchy, lacy edges.
- 04Hold the dispenser a little above the pan and squeeze the trigger to pour rounds about 10 cm across, leaving space between them. Cook for about 2 minutes, until bubbles rise and pop on the surface and the edges look set.
- 05Turn each pancake with a thin spatula and cook for 1 minute more, until golden underneath. Stack them on a plate under a clean tea towel and carry on, wiping a little more butter round the pan every couple of batches.
- 06Pile the pancakes high, top with the strawberries, blackberries and a few mint leaves, and drizzle honey over the stack from the dispenser.
