Simple, soft, fluffy pancakes, an essential that everyone should know. You’ve been good all week. Go on. You deserve freshly made homemade pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!
Pancakes recipe
Homemade pancakes shouldn’t be complicated. It doesn’t matter if they come out wonky or with a splotchy surface instead of being a beautiful, even golden brown – after all, they’ll get smothered in toppings.
But they should be soft and fluffy. And in my world, not too sweet. Because….you know. Toppings. Load up on toppings!
Any day starting with homemade pancakes is a GREAT day!
What goes in homemade pancakes
This is what you need:
flour
baking powder
sugar
egg
milk
vanilla extract – optional
No buttermilk, no baking soda / bi carb, no yoghurt. You only need baking soda for an extra fluff boost when you have add ins in pancakes, like Blueberry Pancakes, because it weighs the batter down.
And of course TOPPINGS! Why limit yourself to just butter and maple syrup? See below for all sorts of ideas!
Pancakes Toppings – what to put on pancakes
Butter and maple syrup – the classic!
Maple syrup alternatives – honey, golden syrup and other sweet syrups suitable for eating raw
Lemon and sugar – one of my favourites! Light sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon
Strawberries and cream! Pictured below – layer it up like a cake, sandwiching the pancakes with whipped cream and sliced strawberries, then finish with a dusting of icing sugar / powdered sugar;
Sinfully rich sauces – like caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, butterscotch sauce, peanut sauce, anything!
Lemon curd, fruit compotes and sauces – like blueberry sauce (try the one in this Blueberry Cheesecake), Strawberry Sauce (use the one in this Strawberry Cheesecake) or try the warm apple topping in this Apple French Toast
BACON and maple syrup – YES!
Sprinkle of nuts
Fresh fruit – chop it, pile over pancakes with cream!
Ice cream – add a scoop onto a stack and drizzle with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce. Don’t forget the whipped cream!
Dusting of cinnamon and sugar
Pro tip: Keep a STANDBY PANCAKE MIX!
Homemade pancakes aren’t complicated to make, but sometimes it’s that much more appealing if there’s a ready made mix in the cupboard, just like the ones you can buy at the store!
Just measure out the dry ingredients and pop them in a ziplock bag, jar or airtight container, then when you want to make fresh pancakes, just add the wet ingredients!
To make a handy shake ‘n pour bottle like pictured above, you’ll need a 1.5L/1.5Qt+ bottle to leave enough headroom for the required liquids + shaking. I mix the wet ingredients in a jug then pour it in then shake away!
Now, go forth and elevate your morning by making a big stack of these soft, fluffy, golden pancakes! TELL ME what you top YOURS with! – Nagi xx
Watch How To Make It
Simple Fluffy Pancakes recipe video!
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Simple, Fluffy Pancakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups / 300g plain / all purpose flour (Note 1)
- 4 tsp baking powder (Note 1)
- 1/4 cup / 55g white sugar (caster / super fine is best but not essential)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 egg
- 1 3/4 cups / 435 ml cups milk (any type, any fat %)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
- 4 tsp butter , for cooking
Instructions
- Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl, whisk to combine.
- Add egg, milk and vanilla. Whisk until lump free – no longer than 30 seconds.
- Heat a non stick skillet – use medium heat if you have a strong stove, medium high if you have a weak one. Add a tiny bit of butter (about 1/2 tsp) and swirl to melt. Use paper towel to mostly wipe the butter off (this is the trick to avoid a dodgy 1st pancake).
- Pour 1/4 cup batter into the middle of the fry pan (I use a slightly heaped ice cream scoop with lever, standard is 1/4 cup).
- Swirl pan lightly to spread or use the ice cream scoop edge to spread into 11cm / 4.5″ circle (ruler is a must) (joking!).
- When bubbles rise to the surface (see video), flip and cook the other side until golden.
- Remove and keep warm in a low oven.
- Use more butter every 2 to 3 pancakes – depends how good your non stick coating is.
- Serve with toppings of choice!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More pancake recipes
Giant Pancakes – to share!
Pikelets – mini pancakes!
Life of Dozer
I’m surprised there isn’t a massive drool hanging from his mouth.
Oh wait. I don’t want to gross you out, but after I wrote this post, I almost slipped on a puddle of drool when I was cleaning that area. Ewwwwww!
I made for my family and they loved them 10/10.
Amazing ! Thank you !
So good would do again with family the fluffiest pancakes to make my 12 year old made them and loved them
Minor quibble. These are American-style pancakes, which are like big pikelets. Australian pancakes (which are really English pancakes) are thin like crepes.
Hi Nagi,
My family enjoyed this recipe but my daughter recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer and we’re now avoiding refined sugar in her diet, is there something that I can use as a substitute?
Just mash two bananas instead with a fork until there’s no lumps and add it to the mix. I never put sugar in my pancakes 🥞
ILOVEIT
Amazing! Around my house I’m known for messing up a lot of recipes, so my family was hesitant to try these because I made them, but they were perfect. So good.
I’ve made these several times and they are always delicious! Just like all your recipes Nagi <3 the only time they went wrong was when I mixed up the sugar and the salt- that batch was no good at all!!! Apart from user error, you can’t go wrong with this recipe.
made these on a whim. excellent result even with a couple of wonkie firsts. I like to top with banana and vanilla yogurt and had blueberry sauce as well.
I’m sure these are delicious if you make them correctly! Highly recommend reading the recipe and using the advised 4 TEASPOONS of baking powder instead of the 4 TABLESPOONS I used. Still all eaten but excited to make them the way they should be next time!
I have tried many pancake recipes over the years, and I made these today, and they were fantastic. Flavoursum and fluffy.
My kids tell me that this is the best pancakes they have ever had. Super fluffy and tasty.
My kids loved it!! Made it for after school this winter. Tahitian lime and sugar was my fav topping : )
Best Pancakes ever!
Just made this and it was delicious! And it really did make 13 pancakes exactly!
My 5 year old and I just made these for Easter lunch. So soft and fluffy! We made ours dairy free and they turned out perfectly!
Fluffy fluffy and soft,
My kids absolutely loves these pancakes. I add some chocolate chips and add a drizzle of syrup and strawberries. They devour every time.
Best pancakes. Cooked it twice for breakfast for children, served it with maple syrup, cream & banana slices. Didn’t last long.
So good. I accidentally doubled the sugar and it still tasted amazing especially with lemon as they were sweet lol