How to make pancakes (Irish Mammy Style)

Serves; two to three people, or one person if you’re in the doghouse with the missus.What you need; A frying pan, a spatula, a bowl for mixing, whisks or an electric mixer, a sieve.Ingredients; 100g of plain flour, two large eggs, 300ml milk, sunflower or vegetable oil, salt.Extras; Whatever you want to put on the pancakes. Classic toppings include sugar, lemon juice, golden or maple syrup, nutella, peanut butter, bananas, whipped cream. I also sometimes either grate some chocolate over it or break a Cadbury’s Flake over it. Some people also like putting ice-cream on these, or some stewed apple, but I think that over complicates pancakes a bit much.This recipe also works for savoury pancakes, if you want, so feel free to substitute any of these for...erm...ham? I’ve never had savoury pancakes.Tips; If you or your guests are celiacs, you can easily swap out the plain flour for gluten-free self-raising flour.How to;1. First grab your bowl. Should be a big mixing bowl, your classic cereal bowl ain’t going to cut it here. Pour the flour into the bowl through the sieve. This should create a little mountain of sieved flour in your bowl. Add a pinch or two of salt to the flour (trust me)2. With your finger (or a spoon, I guess, if you’re afraid of getting your hands a little dirty, you nerd) make a volcano-esque crater in your flour mountain. Crack the eggs into this crater, then adding the milk on top of this.3. Making sure you’re not wearing any dark clothing, start to whisk/mix the ingredients. You want to mix it until it it’s fluid, but not too watery. If it’s too watery, add more flour.4. Put your pan on the hob, turning on the heat. You can either put the oil directly on the pan, or pour it into a paper towel ball & then rub that on the pan. Either way, don’t use too much oil. Heat the oil a bit, spread it evenly on the pan, then pour some of the mixture in. Spread the mixture evenly among the pan.5. After about 30 seconds the pancake will start to cook. Keep prodding at the edges with the spatula, and as it becomes more cooked try to make sure it doesn’t stick to the pan.5. When the bottom side is cooked (you can tell this because you can move the pancake freely on the pan, as long as it’s not stuck to the pan) it’s time to flip it. If you’re not confident in your flipping abilities, put a plate over the pan, turn the pan over then put the now-flipped pancake on the pan from the plate using your spatula. To be honest, though, you should try flip it at least once for the craic.6. Once both sides are evenly cooked, move to a serving plate (not the one you used to flip it, if you wussed out) and add the requisite toppings.7. Keep going until the mixture runs out, or you’re full.8. In my experience, you may need to make up some more batter, but you can always pre-prepare the batter by mixing it together, pouring it into an empty milk jug and storing in the fridge (though do make sure to give it a mix before you use again).Other tips; This method is aimed around the ‘conveyor belt’ method of serving, in that you kind-of give people one pancake at a time, as opposed to the American ‘fat stacks’ style. Also, if you’re looking for some light crepes, this is not the recipe for you.