Nigel Slater and Delia say you need butter. Xanthe Clay reckons an extra egg yolk. Gwyneth Paltrow uses THREE eggs and a slosh of buttermilk, while Jamie Oliver has designed a “one tweet recipe” that could be no easier.

We’ve rounded up the best of the best pancake recipes: the easiest, the thinnest, the fluffiest American. All you need to do is take your pick. Oh, and we’ve picked some outrageous toppings too if you don’t fancy the classic lemon and sugar.

Some do’s and dont’s for the perfect pancake:

  • DO rest your batter, it gives a more even texture.
  • DON’T worry about what the first one looks like, think of it as a pan-seasoner and eat it yourself
  • DO use a crepe pan if you have one but DON’T wash it afterwards, just wipe it down with some kitchen towel. (They’re like woks, they need to be seasoned.)

The technique:

General consensus is that butter tastes better for frying, but you can use oil, especially if you’re making the savoury type. You can either drop a knob of butter in your pan or use Nigel’s trick of having a bowl of warmed butter handy to dribble in.

Turn the heat up high – this will give you a crispy pancake but if you prefer them softer you can turn it down again once the batter is in.

Add a ladleful of batter and tip the pan to spread it. For a really thin pancake you can tip any excess back into the batter. Use a palette knife or slice to loosen the edges, shake to make sure it’s all unstuck and then flip or toss depending on your nerve.

So, to the recipes:

Best for speed

Jamie’s one tweet recipe wins hands down here. Use a mug for measuring, and he doesn’t even think you need to rest them. If you’re really desperate for a pancake NOW this one is a winner.

 

Perfect pancakes: 1 egg, 1 cup self-raising, 1 cup milk, pinch of salt. Whisk. Pour into a hot frying pan. Flip! RT&Share #1tweetrecipe

— Jamie Oliver (@jamieoliver) February 12, 2013


 

Best all rounder

The ever reliable Felicity Cloake wins hands down here. Ingredients: plain flour, pinch of salt, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, 225ml milk, knob of butter. You can read about her method and how she arrived at her Perfect Pancakes here.

Best easy American pancakes

  • 6 tsp butter
  • 280g self-raising flour
  • 1tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp caster sugar
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 250ml milk

Heat 5 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then set aside. Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Add the salt and sugar. Add the melted butter to the beaten eggs, then make a well in the flour mixture and add the milk, then the egg and butter mixture, whisking with a hand whisk to beat through any lumps.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, then add a ladleful of batter. It should be about 1cm thick. Cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Keep the pancakes warm on a plate in the oven while you cook the rest of the batch.

Best celebrity pancakes

We picked Gwyneth’s for this. It’s her dad’s “world famous” pancake recipe and although it’s got more ingredients than your average pancake, they are blooming delicious.

Bruce Paltrow’s World Famous Pancake Recipe

Best for luxury

There are a LOT of luxury pancakes out there. We’ve chosen two: one for thin pancakes and one for American pancakes.

First, for thin pancakes: plums, ricotta, pistachios and honey. This recipe has nutmeg and honey in the actual pancake batter too, but they’re not super sweet. So you can pretend they’re healthy.

Second, for the short stack: these chocolate chip and raspberry pancakes are certainly indulgent. But if you’re giving something up for Lent, you totally deserve it.

More pancake recipes below... let us know how you like yours.