Three ways with pancakes: Sweet and savoury recipes to flip out over

No matter how or when you like to eat your pancakes, these recipes are sure to hit the sweet (or savoury) spot.

If you hadn’t already heard – where have you been? – tomorrow is Shrove Tuesday and home cooks in their thousands are expected to venture into their kitchens once again to take on the challenge of whipping up a batch of pancakes and hoping that they flip.

But they aren’t just for the one Tuesday a year, and really, we don’t need an excuse.

Whether you like them sweet or savoury, for breakfast or dessert, we’ve found three recipes to suit all tastebuds and preferences.

For more in our Three Ways With… series, click here.

Blueberry buckwheat pancakes with berry compote

(Serves 2 – makes 10 pancakes) 

Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 cup milk of choice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• Handful blueberries

For the compote:

• 2 cups fresh raspberries/strawberries/blueberries
• Juice of ½ a lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Mash the banana and then whisk it together with the milk, olive oil and vanilla extract.
2. Add the buckwheat flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and mix until thick and gloopy.
3. Add a little oil to a non stick pan on a medium heat, then spoon 2 tbsp of your batter into the pan to form the pancakes. Cook as many as your pan can fit at a time. Drop 4 or 5 blueberries into each pancake and when they start to bubble, flip them over, cooking for a further 2 minutes until golden.
4. Repeat with the whole mix. While the pancakes are cooking, add the berries to a small saucepan, along with the lemon juice and vanilla extract and allow to heat very gently, stirring from time to time.
5. Once all the pancakes are cooked, stack them high and top with the compote and any toppings of your choice.

Blueberry feta hotcakes with bacon and honey

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

• 400g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of sea salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 400ml of milk
• 150g feta cheese crumbled
• 150g Chilean blueberries
• 250g smoked streaky bacon
• 2 tbsp of honey (or maple syrup)
• 150g Chilean blueberries to decorate

Method

1. Firstly mix the dry ingredients together, then the eggs and milk. Pour the milk and egg mix slowly into the dry mix and whisk to combine. Then add the blueberries and feta cheese.
2. Heat a large frying pan up until medium–high, add a splash of oil and add a couple of large spoonfuls of batter in the pan for each pancake. I like to do one large pancake per person, or you can do a few smaller ones.
3. Cook for about 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Then place on a plate and top with two slices of bacon, a few more blueberries and a drizzle of honey.

Chocolate berry pancakes with minted yogurt

(Serves 4) 

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

• 100g plain flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil plus extra for frying
• 250ml semi skimmed milk

For the filling:

• 170g carton fat free Greek yogurt
• 142g small carton readymade longlife custard
• 4 tsp fresh chopped mint
• 175g raspberries
• 225g strawberries, sliced
• 50g dark chocolate, optional

Method

1. To make the pancakes, sift the flour and cocoa into a bowl, add the egg and egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of the oil then gradually whisk in the milk until smooth. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
2. For the filling, mix the yogurt, custard and chopped mint together. Mix the berries together in a separate bowl. Melt the chocolate if using to decorate, in a bowl set over a small saucepan of gently simmering water.
3. To cook the pancakes, heat a little oil in the base of an 18 cm (7 inch) pan, pour the excess out of the pan into a bowl then add 2-3 tablespoons of the pancake batter to the pan, tilt pan to swirl the batter over the base in a thin layer then cook until browned on the underside.
4. Turn the pancake over and cook the second side then slide out of pan and keep hot on a plate while you cook the remaining mixture until you have 8 pancakes.
5. Fold the pancakes into quarters, spoon in the yogurt mix and berries, arrange in pairs on serving plates and drizzle with melted dark chocolate, if using. Serve immediately.

Recipes courtesy of lovefreshberries.co.uk

More in this series…