Happy Fat Tuesday, Paczki Day, Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, as it’s called here in the UK.  Whatever you call it, whether you celebrate it or not, it’s a good excuse for pancake dinner.

  

You’ll see that pancakes from scratch are quite simple.  From the photos you can see I get my daughters involved in making the batter, though they usually call on me to do the flipping.  It’s one of our favorite weekend rituals.

 

They’re also easy:  the batter is ready to go in about the time it takes to heat the pan.

  

And they are healthy as there’s whole wheat flour plus I top them with blueberries, bananas, nuts or chocolate chips (ok, the latter isn’t exactly healthy).

Serve with maple syrup, a side of bacon and a glass of fresh orange juice and you’ve got a perfect breakfast or dinner.

 

Whole Wheat Pancakes (makes about 18 pancakes)

Note:  Buttermilk in the UK tends to be thicker than its US counterpart, so I typically add an extra 1/2 cup (120 ml) of milk when making this recipe in the UK, to thin out the batter a bit.

1 cup (140 grams) cup plain, all-purpose flour

1 cup (150 grams) whole wheat / wholemeal flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups (475 ml) buttermilk

1 egg

3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup (120 ml) milk

Vegetable oil

Optional toppings:  chocolate chips, blueberries, sliced bananas, chopped pecans, coconut

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Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl (I use a 4 cup / 1 liter liquid measuring cup – same one I use to measure the buttermilk) whisk together the buttermilk, egg and melted butter.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and whisk very gently until the buttermilk mixture is just incorporated (a few lumps should remain).  Be careful not to overmix.  If batter is too thick, stir in a bit of milk (up to 1/2 cup / 120 ml).

Heat a 12″ nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.  Brush with 1 teaspoon of oil.  Using a medium-size ladle or a 1/4 cup measure, add batter to skillet to form four pancakes, sprinkle with any of the optional toppings and cook until top starts to bubble a bit.  Flip the pancakes (if having difficulty flipping the pancake, probably means it needs to cook a bit longer and firm up) and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 2 minutes.  Place pancakes on a metal baking tray and set in a slightly warm oven (I use the lowest oven setting).

Repeat with the remaining batter, brushing the skillet with oil as needed between batches.  Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook