Cheap Family Meals 3 – Pancakes

Pancakes/ Dropscones/Scotch Pancakes

The next of my  cheap family meals is pancakes.

As you can see from the heading people call these by many different names. I called them scotch pancakes as a kid but I am sure they have many other regional names.

We often ate them as a cheap lunch with jam, lemon curd, syrup or peanut butter if we had it or simply margarine if we didn’t.

The beauty of these is that you can make them as rich and sweet if you want or keep the quite plain if you want a healthier cheaper option.

Again quantities are pretty vague as it depends on money and taste.

Ingredients:

Self Raising Flour

Baking Powder

Sugar

Egg/s

Milk

Lemon Juice/Golden Syrup/Honey/Vanilla Essence/Maple Syrup.

Butter/Marg/Oil

Method:

Get a large bowl and put in about 8oz of flour for each two to three people. For each 8oz of flour add an egg, a dessert spoon of sugar, a teaspoon of baking powder and which ever flavouring you would like to use or have available. Add a little milk and beat with a wooden spoon or whisk, until there are no lumps. Then add a little more milk until you have the consistency of un-whipped double cream. That is thick, but pourable. Heat a heavy frying pan on a high heat then turn it down a little. Grease the pan with what ever fat you have chosen and place small spoons of the batter around the pan. Not too much they need to be about a large tablespoon of mix, and will spread to be about 3 inches in diameter. Let them cook until bubbles form on the top then flip them over to cook the other side. Cook the second side until golden and then place on a clean tea towel or a plate and cover with another towel. This will keep them warm and moist. Grease the pan and cook the next batch.  You may need to increase or decrease the heat depending on the pan and the heat source you are using. You may also find that the first batch sticks no matter what you do – so eat them as cooks perks! When they are all ready just put them on the table with whatever spreads you have to hand and watch them vanish. You may even have to make more – good thing they are quick to throw together.

Variations.

You can make them sweeter with more sugar or syrup. Richer with more egg or a little melted butter mixed in. You can also add a handful of dried fruit or chopped nuts. Add some cocoa powder and/or some chocolate chips. Butter them  then stack them up and serve with syrup poured over and ice cream on the side. Whatever you do you will enjoy them as much as your children.

Thank you for reading this and please come back to my cheap family meals.