Scotch Pancakes

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy frying pan or flat cast iron griddle
• •Mixing bowl and whisk
• •Tablespoon for dropping batter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the batter

   Tip the flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Crack in the egg and pour in about half the milk. Whisk from the middle outward, pulling in flour from the edges as you go, until you have a thick, smooth paste. Add the rest of the milk gradually and whisk until the batter is the consistency of very thick cream. It should drop reluctantly from the spoon, not pour. Stir in the melted butter last. Let it sit for five minutes while you heat the pan. The resting isn't fussiness. It lets the flour hydrate and the bubbles settle, and you'll get a better rise for it.

   If the batter feels too thick, add milk a splash at a time. Too thin and the pancakes spread into sad, flat discs instead of holding their shape on the griddle. You want something that sits in a proud little circle when it hits the pan.
2. 2

   Heat the griddle

   Set a heavy frying pan or flat griddle over a medium heat. Not high. Medium. Give it a few minutes to come up to temperature evenly, then rub it with a small piece of butter on a scrap of kitchen paper. The pan should be hot enough that a tiny drop of batter sizzles on contact and sets immediately, but not so hot that it browns before the inside has cooked. If the first pancake scorches, turn the heat down and wait a minute. The pan is telling you something. Listen to it.

3. 3

   Cook the pancakes

   Drop generous tablespoons of batter onto the pan, spacing them apart so they don't run into each other. They should spread into neat circles about seven or eight centimetres across. Leave them alone. After a minute or so, small bubbles will appear on the surface and begin to pop, leaving tiny craters. When most of the bubbles have burst and the edges look set and dry, flip them. This is the only moment that requires your full attention. The underside should be a deep, even golden brown. Cook the second side for another minute, until it too is golden and the pancake feels springy when you press it gently with your finger.

   The first pancake is always a test. It tells you whether the heat is right, the batter is right, the timing is right. Eat it standing at the stove. Nobody needs to know.
4. 4

   Keep warm and serve

   Stack the cooked pancakes on a warm plate and cover loosely with a clean tea towel while you finish the batch. Re-butter the pan lightly between rounds. Serve them warm, not hot, with good butter and whatever you like alongside: honey, jam, a squeeze of lemon. They want to be eaten quickly, while they're still soft and giving. A scotch pancake left to go cold is a different, lesser thing entirely.

Chef Tips

• •Self-raising flour does the work here. Don't bother with baking powder and plain flour ratios. Life is short. A good self-raising flour and a fresh egg are all the leavening you need.
• •The pan matters more than the batter. A heavy cast iron griddle or a thick-bottomed frying pan holds its heat evenly and gives you that deep, uniform golden colour. A thin pan creates hot spots and you'll get pancakes that are burnt in the middle and pale at the edges. If you don't have cast iron, use the heaviest pan you own and be patient with the heat.
• •Wrap leftover pancakes in a tea towel and they'll keep soft for a few hours. But honestly, make the amount you'll eat. They're best straight from the pan, and the batter takes no time at all to mix fresh.
• •A little vanilla extract in the batter is a quiet improvement if you're in the mood, but it isn't essential. The same goes for a handful of blueberries dropped onto each pancake just after you spoon the batter into the pan. Nice. Not necessary.

Advance Preparation

• •The batter can be made the night before and kept covered in the fridge. Give it a stir before cooking. It may thicken overnight, so loosen it with a splash of milk until it drops from the spoon properly again.
• •Cooked pancakes freeze well, layered between sheets of baking parchment, for up to a month. Toast them straight from frozen for a quick weekday breakfast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 32g)