Buttermilk pancakes with maple bacon

Buttermilk pancakes with maple bacon
Prepare
less than 30 mins
Cook
10 to 30 mins
Serve
Serves 6

Thick, fluffy buttermilk pancakes served the American way with glazed bacon and maple syrup.

This easy pancake recipe will save your brunch.

By John Torode

From Celebrity MasterChef

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Ingredients

To serve

Recipe tips
How-to videos

Method

  1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.

  2. In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the buttermilk, milk, eggs and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not overbeat – stir just to combine.

  3. Melt a small knob of butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Using a ladle, pour some batter into the pan to make a pancake. Depending on the size of the pan, you may be able to make more than one pancake at a time, or if you are confident you can use two pans at the same time.

  4. Cook the pancakes for about a minute, or until the underside is golden brown and the top is bubbling. Turn them over using a palette knife or fish slice and cook for another minute. Keep the pancakes warm in a very low oven while you cook the remaining batter.

  5. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium–hot. Lay the bacon on a grill tray lined with foil and brush with some of the maple syrup. Grill until one side of the bacon is crisp. Turn over and brush the other side with maple syrup and cook until crisp.

  6. Serve the pancakes stacked on top of each other, topped with grilled bacon and drizzled with maple syrup.

Recipe tips

Buttermilk makes these pancakes incredibly tender and fluffy.

Let the melted butter cool a little before mixing with the eggs (to prevent the eggs scrambling).

The key to great pancakes is to get the heat just right when you cook them. It's best to cook one pancake at a time until you are sure the pan temperature is spot on (then there's no risk of spoiling more than one). They are ready to turn when you see lots of air bubbles rising to the surface and the edges look set, at this point the underside should be perfectly golden-brown – if it's a little overcooked reduce the heat.

Turn the pancakes gently to avoid bursting too many air bubbles (these are what make the pancakes fluffy).

The portion size in this recipe is generous, so if cooking for 4 people (especially if that includes young children) you can halve the ingredients (175g/6oz self-raising flour, ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda, pinch salt, 1 tbsp caster sugar, 100ml/3½fl oz buttermilk, 200ml/7fl oz semi-skimmed milk, 1 egg, 40g/1½oz unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for frying).

Pancakes are best eaten fresh, but freeze surprisingly well. However, they will stick together so you need to either freeze them apart on a tray before placing in a freezer bag, or stack them with a small piece of baking paper between each pancake. Reheat from frozen on a lined or non-stick baking tray wrapped in foil for about 10 minutes at 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4 until warmed through. Alternatively reheat in small portions in the microwave, using 30 second bursts until warmed through.