American Pancakes - The full works

As my Mom was visiting for the weekend, before she headed off for the journey home I wanted to make sure she was well fed so decided to make a huge brunch - American pancakes with crispy bacon, scrambled eggs and maple syrup.

What makes the pancakes American is achieving a thick fluffy pancake rather than a thin french style crepe. To do this, its all in how you make the batter - make like normal pancakes but separate the eggs and whisk the whites into soft peaks before folding into the other mixed ingredients, this makes an almost foamy batter. I used a James Martin recipe from BBC Food which is below.

I am already a big fan of the this sweet and savoury combination but my Mom and the boyfriend needed a bit of convincing. The maple syrup did that for me and they devoured every last mouthful. I was really shocked by how expensive maple syrup is though, £5.19 for a bottle was the cheapest I could find!

American Pancakes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 175g/6oz plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 25g/1oz caster sugar

• 2 free-range eggs, separated

• 250ml/9fl oz milk

• 25g/1oz butter

To serve:

• 12 rashers maple-cured back bacon

• 6 eggs beaten

• 50ml milk

• knob of butter

Method:

1. Place the flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a bowl and stir to combine.

Add the egg yolks and milk to the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk to make a smooth batter.

2. In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form when the whisk is removed, then fold into the batter.

3. Heat a large frying pan until hot, add the butter and heat until melted and foaming. Place ladlefuls of the batter into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until bubbles start to form on top of the batter. Turn the pancakes over using a spatula and cook for a further minute on the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm until ready to serve. Repeat the process with the remaining batter.

4. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan until hot, add the bacon and cook for two minutes on each side, or until crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.

5. Combine the 6 beaten eggs with the 50ml milk and knob of butter in a pan and cook on a low heat, stir occasionally until just cooked. Set aside.

5. To serve, divide the pancakes among four serving plates, top with the bacon and scrambled eggs and drizzle with maple syrup.