Mom's Pancakes

 

I have to say right up front that I think my recipe for my mom's pancakes is the best pancake recipe ever. I know everyone thinks that their mom makes the best pancakes!  But I am not kidding you when I say that this recipe is the best.

It makes the lightest, fluffiest pancakes on earth. They are so light and fluffy they practically float off the plate. They are also very easy to make.  There is nothing complicated here.  They also turn out perfectly each and every time you make them!  I guarantee! 

 

Once you try this recipe you may be so happy with the results that you simply won't want to try another recipe again, but then again . . .  can you ever have too many pancake recipes?  I think not!

What you have here though is a bare bones, no-nonsense, no fuss no muss, basic pancake recipe.  The bar against which you will judge all others.

 

My mom was a bare bones, no-nonsense kind of a cook. If something needed special ingredients she wouldn't give it the time of day. There was nothing like vanilla in her pancakes. They were plain and simple, and they were delicious.

What made them even more so was the fact that we only got them once a year.  On pancake day.  We would so have loved them at other times but that was mom. She didn't want to spoil us.

 

She would cook them on this large circular aluminum griddle pan she got with her Wear-Ever cook set back in 1954.  Those pans lasted my mother all of her lifetime, and my sister still uses them. 

These are the original papers that came with the set of pans. Mom still had it. You can see on the receipt that they cost my parents $298.25.  That was a considerable amount of money in 1954.

My mother never parted with money easily, so you can be sure that she felt these pans were worth it, and I can tell you she used them for over 60 years!  A few of them warped a bit on the bottom, but for the most part they remained useful for all that time.

Like I said my sister still uses some of them, in particular the turkey roaster.  That roaster oven roasted over 100 turkeys in its lifetime!  And every one of them perfect! 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MOM'S PANCAKES

Mom never went in for anything fancy. Just plain simple, every day ingredients.   

• 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
• 2 TBS sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups (420ml) whole milk
• 2 large free range eggs
• 2 TBS melted butter or vegetable oil
• butter for cooking

 

Mom would have never added vanilla to her pancakes.  She never added anything else either. Not blueberries or lemon zest, nada, zip.

You can always add blueberries or other fruits if you wish. Just make sure whatever you add is cut small enough to cook in the allotted time.  

If you like your pancakes a bit sweeter, by all means add more sugar.

 

 

You can replace 1/2 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour if you wish. (70g)  These will not rise quite as much as they would when using all white flour.

 

HOW TO MAKE MOM'S PANCAKES 

Nothing could be easier.  Yours will turn out perfectly if you follow this recipe.

Whisk the milk, eggs, and melted butter together in a beaker. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the center. Add the wet ingredients and whisk together until combined. Lumps are okay! The mixture should be thick but pourable. If you think it is too thick, add a bit more milk.

Preheat a large flat bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add some butter to the pan. Once the butter begins to foam ladle in the pancake batter using 1/4 cup measure for each pancake. 

Cook on one side over medium heat until bubbles form on the surface and begin to pop. (this will take about 2 minutes) Flip over and cook on the other side until golden brown. (a further 2 minutes)Serve with butter to melt over top and pure maple syrup.

Just look at how light and fluffy they are! Now that's what I call a perfect pancake.  I can tell you, they say that the first pancake is always a throwaway?  I never have throwaways with mom's recipe.

They really do turn out perfect every time!

 

My children loved pancakes and they were something which I prepared for them fairly often. Some of their favorites were:

SILVER DOLLAR PANCAKES - small bite sized pancakes. Light and fluffy. The size of a silver dollar and crisp edged these are fabulously tasty and so much fun to eat! These are real family favorites!

BLUEBERRY BUTTERMILK PANCAKES - Tangy with buttermilk, light and filled with an abundance of fresh berries! I like to scatter the finished pancakes with even more berries when they are done!

BLUEBERRY & LEMON SHEETPAN PANCAKE - these delicious pancakes bake on a sheetpan. They have a lemon curd swirl and are stuffed with fresh berries. Very easy to make, leaving your hands free to get on with something else! 

You can very easily double this recipe to make a larger batch. Just keep the ones you cook warm in a low oven on a baking sheet. (175*F/80*C)

You can easily make these ahead and freeze them for future use. Just separate each cooled pancake by a small square of waxed paper and stack them in a tightly closed freezer bag. Easy to remove one at a time an quickly reheat in the microwave, toaster or even the oven.

Mom's Pancakes

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 3 MinTotal time: 13 Min

These pancakes are light and fluffy. So easy to make from scratch. This is the best pancake recipe ever.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (280g) plain all purpose flour
• 2 TBS sugar
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cups (420ml) whole milk
• 2 large free range eggs
• 2 TBS melted butter or vegetable oil
• butter for cooking

Instructions

1. Whisk the milk, eggs, and melted butter together in a beaker.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Add the wet ingredients and whisk together until combined. Lumps are okay! The mixture should be thick but pourable. If you think it is too thick, add a bit more milk.
3. Preheat a large flat bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add some butter to the pan.
4. Once the butter begins to foam ladle in the pancake batter using 1/4 cup measure for each pancake. Cook on one side over medium heat until bubbles form on the surface and begin to pop. (this will take about 2 minutes) Flip over and cook on the other side until golden brown. (a further 2 minutes)
5. Serve with butter to melt over top and pure maple syrup.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @marierayner5530 on instagram and hashtag it # TheEnglishKitchen

Because of one commentor below I felt compelled to go and make a batch today (February 13, 2024) and here is a photograph.  They turned out perfect, made exactly as written per the recipe. 

You have to be doing something wrong. Maybe your measuring cups are not right?  I have used the following cups:

This is the exact brand of liquid measuring cups I use for all of my baking.

And these are the dry measuring cups and spoons that I use for all of my baking.

This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: theenglishkitchen@mail.com 

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