Pancake Weekends

My husband and I have weekends off so we make it a habit to wake up as late as we can every Saturday and have our super late brunch. If it will turn out to be a lovely weather for the weekend, we try to wake up a bit early and go out. I usually make pancakes on Saturdays on my hubby's request (yes, it's his "favorite weekend breakfast ever!"). Before, I used to make ready-mix pancakes which means I have to get it from a Filipino store. I also tried the English pancakes. They are thinner and crepe-like and we'd rather settle for the American pancakes which we can't find in any of the stores here. As I don't get to buy pancake mixes on a regular basis, I tried to make my own. After several attempts and also a search for the perfect pancake recipe online, I finally got just the right combination. I also play up a little and add a flavor on my pancakes depending on whatever I have in store. It maybe some leftover strawberry or pineapple jelly, grated cheese (which my hubby doesn't really fancy but I like it no matter what) or sometimes chocolate bits. Aside from the usual pancake syrup, I top the pancakes with strawberries, toffee sauce, ice cream or Devon custard. And because it's a really late meal, I serve it with either fried or scrambled eggs and some bacon. 

Some tips: 

Self-raising flour versus plain flour. I have tried both and I have to say it is still better to use self-raising flour (and still add the other raising ingredients) because it helps in making bigger pancakes. When I used plain flour, the pancakes were so flat. 

Butter versus vegetable oil. In contrast to cakes where the oil makes it more moist than using butter, when I tried it in pancakes, they were more crepe-like when oil was used. The result? I ended up making crepes instead of pancakes.

Butter versus margarine. Butter is still better because it works well with milk or water. When used for frying pancakes, for me, it doesn't really matter whichever is used.  

Milk versus water. It doesn't really bother me much whatever is used but some people say it's better to use milk because it will make fluffier pancakes. I guess using self-raising flour already makes it fluffy anyway. When I used milk with plain flour, the pancakes were still flat.

Ingredients:

1 c self-raising flour

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

3/4 c skimmed milk

2 tbsp butter

1 tsp vanilla

In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add milk (only about a half of it), egg and butter to the dry ingredients. Whisk slowly. Gradually add the remaining milk and vanilla until you have the right consistency for the batter, not too thin and not too thick. You can also add cheese, chocolate, strawberry or pineapple jelly on the batter. 

Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan with butter. Scoop about 1/4 cup butter and pour into the pan. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface then flip and cook the other side.

Repeat the same procedure with the remaining batter.

Serve with butter and pancake syrup. You can add fruits, toffee or chocolate sauce, whipped or ice cream. Enjoy!