Delicious for breakfast, lunch or just in between: American Pancakes. This simple recipe for American-style pancakes is an absolute hit, and you can vary it endlessly.
First of all a bit of explanation on the difference between Dutch pancakes and American pancakes. As you may know I am born in the Netherlands and live there, so our ‘regular’ pancakes are the Dutch ones which look more like a french crepe, than fluffy american pancakes do.
The difference is pretty apparent if you look at the cooked pancakes. American pancakes are thick and fluffy and Dutch pancakes are flat and can easily be filled if you want to. They are also much larger and another big difference is that american pancakes use a rising agent. Usually baking powder. That makes the pancakes much thicker and fluffier.
Now you can’t really make American pancakes without maple syrup (well you could if you wanted to but it kind of belongs together) Personally, I often use regular Dutch pancake syrup, which is also very tasty but a bit more like golden syrup. But these pancakes will be delicious with powdered sugar or make them savory with some cheese or bacon! Nothing wrong with that.
This is really a basic recipe for American pancakes, so you can go either way with the flavor variations. Personally, I always use Nigella Lawson’s recipe as a base for these easy pancakes, although these days I add a little baking soda. It makes them even fluffier, which is very nice. Do you need more reasons to make them?
First let’s gather all the ingredients for making the pancakes. You will need the following:
First you mix all the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients as well. Mix it well together until you have a smooth batter. It will be thicker than regular Dutch pancakes but that’s how it should be! Baking them is best done in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. If you turn the heat up too high the pancakes will burn before they’re cooked and you want them to be golden brown.
Since they are small you can add more than one pancake to the pan. My pan usually hold three at one time. First add a small knob of butter to the pan and once the melted butter is hot you add some batter to the pan.
When the top of the pancake starts to bubble your pancake is ready to be turned. It just takes a couple of minutes. Place them on a hot plate until you’re ready to eat.
Now the fun part about homemade pancakes is that you can make endless variations. Blueberry pancakes are a classic, but adding some streaky bacon or chocolate chips to the batter is also delicious! Or how about adding some peanut butter? And fresh fruit is good with any pancake right?
Maybe you made pancakes for a brunch that’s not until tomorrow, or maybe you didn’t finish all the pancakes you made. Luckily, American pancakes are great for storing! In the refrigerator, just wrap the leftover pancakes in aluminum foil and they will keep for at least two days.
In the freezer, I would put a piece of parchment paper between each pancake to keep them from sticking together or freeze them in freezer bags in a single layer. Then wrap them in aluminum foil again and you can freeze them for up to three months.
Before you eat your frozen (and defrosted) pancakes, you should heat them up. You can easily do this in the microwave, but they will get a little limp. Personally, I like to heat them up in a frying pan, then they are at their tastiest and it is just like you made them fresh 😉. Still with the fluffy consistency intact!
I wouldn’t. This will reduce the effectiveness of the leavening agents. Basically, making the batter is very little work. I think it will take you less than five minutes, baking will take a little longer. So the best way is to make the batter fresh. You can store the baked pancakes very easily.
Yes, in theory you can. But it is not necessary to get fluffy pancakes. The baking soda in this recipe is activated by the baking powder, which already contains the “acid”. So while it won’t hurt to add buttermilk you don’t have to.
Yes, it is! American pancake batter is much thicker than we are used to from Dutch pancakes.
I wouldn’t, the combination of these two baking agents is what makes the pancakes so nice and fluffy. Don’t have either of these ingredients on hand, but still want to make this recipe? Consider the following:
You can, but the butter is a flavor enhancer.
I personally use a pancake pan or large frying pan to make the pancakes. I can make about 3 pancakes at a time.
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