Two posts in less than a week! It must be some sort of record. Don’t worry, I’ll probably disappear again for a while. I just couldn’t let Pancake Tuesday pass again without sharing my recipe for these Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes.

You might already know that I adore Pancake Tuesday. Well, I love any excuse to gorge on pancakes. It might be obvious from the fact I already have recipes for Dutch Baby Pancake and Ricotta Pancakes. Funnily enough for some reason on this day we always eat the crepe style pancakes, usually just with lemon and sugar. However, the rest of the year I love making different styles of thick sweet ones. This recipe for Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes is one that I have made so many times over the years and tweaked until I was completely happy with it.

Useful tips & links:

• This recipe may seem a little involved, there are a few bowls! I separate my eggs and whisk the whites until thick and fluffy before adding them to the batter. This gives the pancakes more air and makes them lighter. When I feel lazy, I don’t bother and just whisk the whole egg in with the buttermilk. They are still good, just not as light.
• I used to buy a brand of buttermilk that was very thick but I cannot get it anymore. To compensate, I have started to mix yogurt into my buttermilk to make it thicker. A thicker batter means the pancakes hold their shape better and will not spread out too much in the pan. I have tried using all yogurt but I didn’t like the taste and found the pancakes to be too dry for my liking.
• Many pancake batters benefit from having time to rest overnight, this is not one of them. The acid in buttermilk reacts with the bicarb to produce bubbles which is another reason these pancakes are light. This reaction happens as soon as the buttermilk and bicarb are mixed so you want to cook the pancakes quickly to make the most of these bubbles.
• You can add blueberries or chocolate chips to your pancake, when you have poured the batter into the pan, sprinkle over the fruit or chocolate before the batter sets.
• Serve the pancakes with your favourite toppings. Personally I’m not a fan of bacon and maple syrup, I always go with a fruit topping. My favourite in the Summer is strawberries and yogurt. In the Winter I make a simple berry compote and for a real treat serve with the mascarpone cream from this Chocolate Cake Recipe and dust with icing sugar.
• For a berry compote I heat frozen berries with a splash of water and vanilla until the berries start to break down, then add sugar to taste. I like to keep the berries quite tart as the pancakes are sweet.
• Nicola from Simply Homemade has a wide range of delicious alternative pancake recipes on her site.

Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes 8

Ingredients:

• 150g of plain flour
• 20g of caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of salt
• 20g of butter
• 100ml of buttermilk
• 50ml of natural yogurt
• ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, separated

Method:

• Take a large flat frying pan and melt the butter over a medium heat. When the butter is melted remove it from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
• Meanwhile, sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the sugar, baking powder, bicarb and salt and mix together.
• Whisk together the buttermilk, yogurt, vanilla and egg yolks. Pour in the melted butter and mix it through.
• In another bowl beat the egg whites until thick and fluffy.
• Put the frying pan back on the heat, you won’t need to add any fat as the butter was melted in the pan and will leave a little coating when you pour it in to the milk. Make sure your pan is hot before you combine the wet and dry ingredients as you want to start cooking the pancakes immediately then.
• Pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture and whisk through until just combined. Add the egg whites a third at a time and fold through carefully. Do not overwork the batter or the gluten in the flour will start to work and the pancakes will become tough.
• Pour in two heaped tablespoons of batter per pancake into the frying pan. I usually make three at a time, you don’t want to overcrowd the pan. When you see the edges are starting to set and there are bubbles on the surface, the pancakes are ready to flip. Cook for a further couple of minutes on the second side and then remove from the pan.
• Serve immediately with your toppings of choice or keep warm in a low oven until ready to serve.