English Pancakes Recipe (2024)

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Traditional English pancakes recipe made simply with eggs, flour and milk. Make the batter for this easy recipe in just 5 minutes and enjoy perfectly thin and light, English style pancakes on Pancake day. For more pancake inspiration see: 5 Easy Recipes for Pancakes.

English Pancakes Recipe (1)

Jump to:
  • 👩🏻‍🍳 Why make this recipe
  • 🍽 Equipment notes
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪 Step by step instructions
  • 💭 Expert tips
  • ❓ Frequently asked questions
  • 🥞 Other Pancake recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

👩🏻‍🍳 Why make this recipe

In the UK, English pancakes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday at the start of lent. A tradition we all love, although pancake making can be seen as quite a tricky business. How to make the batter, how to make thin pancakes, how to stop pancakes sticking to the pan, how to toss without disaster......it can all be quite stressful.

Fear not, this recipe is all about making the most perfect English pancakes in the easiest way possible. No lumpy batter and no pancakes on the ceiling (or floor). This recipe ensures a super smooth batter in just 5 minutes and although flipping pancakes is all part of the fun, its definitely not required here.

🍽 Equipment notes

Useful bits of equipment for making these British pancakes:

  • Sieve
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Whisk
  • 9 inch pancake pan or frying pan
  • Ladle
  • Spatula

🥘 Ingredients

To make this English pancakes recipe at home you will need:

English Pancakes Recipe (2)

Ingredient notes

Measurements: For the amounts required, see the recipe card below and use the toggle button to see the recipe in cups.

Milk:Semi skimmed milk (2%) is used in this recipe but for a richer flavour you can use whole milk. I don't recommend using skimmed milk which lacks the fat required to keep the pancakes soft and full of flavour.

Flour:This recipe calls for plain or all purpose flour as the English pancake is thin and flat so doesn't require any rising agents.

Butter: The butter is purely for use as a cooking agent but you can use oil if you prefer. I suggest melting the butter in the pan, then wiping with a kitchen towel to spread the butter and remove any excess.

Lemons and sugar: Lemon juice and sugar is the traditional topping for English pancakes. But feel free to substitute with your favourite pancake topping.

🔪 Step by step instructions

  1. Start by sifting flour into a large mixing bowl.
  2. Make a well in the flour and crack in two eggs.
  3. Add a quarter of the milk to the eggs then start to whisk into the flour.
  4. Gradually add the rest of the milk to the batter and whisk well between each addition. The gradual addition will ensure a lump free batter.English Pancakes Recipe (3)
  5. Once all the milk is whisked in, leave to stand for 30 minutes
  6. Place a 9 inch pancake pan or frying pan on a medium heat. Add a bit of butter and melt. Use kitchen towel to spread the batter around the pan base remove any excess. Give your batter a good mix and then scoop ¾ of a ladleful into the hot pan.
  7. Move the pan around to spread the batter all the way to the edges. (TIP: if you like frilly edges then take the batter ever so slightly up the sides of the pan).
  8. Keep the pan on a medium heat and cook for around 1 minute. Use a spatula to gently lift one side to check the pancake has browned and to help release it from the pan base. Its time to flip when you can shake the pan and the pancake slides and moves across the pan. Then, either take a chance and give it a flip or use a spatula to gently turn over the pancake.English Pancakes Recipe (4)
  9. Cook on the second side for 30 seconds or so. Serve on a plate with lemon and sugar or transfer to foil and wrap to keep warm whilst you make more.
  10. Repeat steps 6-9 until all the batter is used up.

💭 Expert tips

  • As this is an English pancake recipe the batter should be thin and similar to the consistency of single cream.
  • Don't over mix the batter. Mix enough to just combine, then leave to rest for 30 minutes.
  • If your pancakes are sticking to the pan then you need to add more oil or butter and spread it evenly around the whole surface. I usually melt a bit of butter and then use kitchen towel to spread it around and remove any excess.

❓ Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between English and American pancakes?

Unlike English pancakes, American pancakes use a leavening agent (baking powder), which release gases and allow the pancakes to rise. Therefore, American pancakes are smaller and thicker than English pancakes.

What is the difference between English pancakes and crepes?

The french version of pancakes are very similar to British pancakes except they are larger and thinner. A special tool is used for spreading the batter on a hot plate, which makes crepes very thin.

What topping to serve with pancakes?

The traditional topping for English pancakes is sugar and lemon - nice and simple. However, you could also top with strawberries, mango, banana, nutella, honey, syrup, chocolate sauce, cream, yogurt, chocolate chips, nuts and seeds.

Can you reheat pancakes?

In my opinion pancakes are best eaten straight from the pan. This was always the tradition in my house. My mum would stand dutifully by the stove cooking off pancakes as fast as we could eat them.

However, if you wish, you can make a full batch of pancakes and wrap in foil as you go to keep them warm. If they do need reheating, place the foil wrapped pancakes in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Alternatively pop the pan back on the heat and warm each pancake on both sides for 10 seconds or so.

English Pancakes Recipe (5)

🥞 Other Pancake recipes

  • American Blueberry Pancakes
  • American Pancakes
  • Healthy Pancakes Recipe (with Banana and Oats)
  • Scotch Pancakes Recipe

If you've tried this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a star rating in the recipe card or comment section below.I always appreciate your feedback! You can also follow me on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram or Sign up to my email list!

📖 Recipe

English Pancakes Recipe (6)

English Pancakes Recipe

By: Debbie Jones

Traditional English pancakes recipe made simply with eggs, flour and milk. Make the batter for this easy recipe in just 5 minutes and enjoy perfectly thin and light English style pancakes on Pancake day.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 35 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, brunch, Dessert

Cuisine British, English

Servings 6 Pancakes

Calories 111 kcal

Equipment

  • Sieve

  • Large mixing bowl

  • Whisk

  • 9 inch pancake pan or frying pan

  • Ladle

  • Spatula

Ingredients

  • 110 g plain flour all purpose flour
  • 2 large eggs
  • 275 ml semi skimmed 2% milk
  • Knob of butter for cooking
  • Lemon juice and sugar for topping

Instructions

  • Start by sifting flour into a large mixing bowl.

  • Make a well in the flour and crack in two eggs.

  • Add a quarter of the milk to the eggs then start to whisk into the flour.

  • Gradually add the rest of the milk to the batter and whisk well between each addition. The gradual addition will ensure a lump free batter.

  • Once all the milk is whisked in, leave to stand for 30 minutes

  • Place a 9 inch pancake pan or frying pan on a medium heat. Add a bit of butter and melt. Use kitchen towel to spread the batter around the base of the pan and remove any excess. Give your batter a good mix and then scoop ¾ of a ladleful into the hot pan.

  • Move the pan around to spread the batter all the way to the edges. (TIP: if you like frilly edges then take the batter ever so slightly up the sides of the pan).

  • Keep the pan on a medium heat and cook for around 1 minute. Use a spatula to gently lift one side to check the pancake has browned and to help release it from the pan base. Its time to flip when you can shake the pan and the pancake slides and moves across the pan. Then, either take a chance and give it a flip or use a spatula to gently turn over the pancake.

  • Cook on the second side for 30 seconds or so. Serve on a plate with lemon and sugar or transfer to foil and wrap to keep warm whilst you make more.

  • Repeat steps 6-9 until all the batter is used up.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pancake | Calories: 111kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 43mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg

Notes

Milk:Semi skimmed milk is used in this recipe but for a richer flavour you can use whole milk. I don't recommend using skimmed milk which lacks the fat required to keep the pancakes soft and full of flavour.

Flour:This recipe calls for plain or all purpose flour as the English pancake is thin and flat so doesn't require any rising agents.

Butter: The butter is purely for use as a cooking agent but you can use oil if you prefer. I suggest melting the butter in the pan and then wiping with a kitchen towel to spread the butter and remove any excess.

Lemons and sugar: Lemon juice and sugar is the traditional topping for English pancakes. But feel free to substitute with your favourite pancake topping.

What is the difference between English and American pancakes?
Unlike English pancakes, American pancakes use a leavening agent (baking powder), which release gases and allow the pancakes to rise. Therefore, American pancakes are smaller and thicker than English pancakes.

What is the difference between English pancakes and crepes?
The french version of pancakes are very similar to British pancakes except they are larger and thinner. A special tool is used for spreading the batter on a hot plate, which makes crepes very thin.

What toppings to serve with pancakes?
The traditional topping for English pancakes is sugar and lemon - nice and simple. However, you could also top with strawberries, mango, banana, nutella, honey, syrup, chocolate sauce, cream, yogurt, chocolate chips, nuts and seeds.

Can you reheat pancakes?
In my opinion pancakes are best eaten straight from the pan and this was always the tradition in my house. My mum would stand dutifully by the stove cooking off pancakes as fast as we could eat them.

However, if you wish, you can make a full batch of pancakes and wrap in foil as you go to keep them warm. If they do need reheating, place the foil wrapped pancakes in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Alternatively pop the pan back on the heat and warm each pancake on both sides for 10 seconds or so.

More Breakfast

  • 5 Easy Recipes For Pancakes
  • Healthy Banana Bread
  • Healthy Pancakes Recipe (with Banana and Oats)
  • Scotch Pancakes Recipe (Drop Scones)
  • Email

Reader Interactions

Comments

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  1. Kim Potter

    Can these pancakes be made in advance and frozen?

    Reply

    • Debbie Jones

      Hi Kim,
      This isn't something I've tried, but I would say that pancakes are best made fresh. You could make earlier in the same day you plan to eat them, wrap in foil and then when ready to eat, remove foil and reheat on low heat in
      the pan or oven. Hope this helps. Thanks,Debbie x

      Reply

English Pancakes Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between American and English pancakes? ›

Meaning all three are basically the same? Yes, the difference is size: “American-style fluffy pancakes tend to be plate-sized and thicker.” We don't bring up silver dollar pancakes – a bite-sized version of fluffy pancakes. It's just too much.

What are pancakes called in England? ›

In the UK, the word pancakes refers to the same thing, but the word flapjacks refers to something entirely different: a baked good made from oats, resembling what elsewhere may be called a granola bar or oat bar. The word flapjack is traced back to the late 1500s.

What is Queen Elizabeth's pancake recipe? ›

Beat two eggs with 4 tablespoons of sugar and about one teacup (or 3/4 of a cup) of milk. Add 4 teacups of flour and mix in another teacup of milk "as required" Mix in 3 teaspoons of cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda (baking soda) Fold in 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

What is the difference between crepes and English pancakes? ›

The main difference is that pancake batter has a raising agent in it, such as baking powder or baking soda, and crepe batter does not. This means that pancakes are thicker and fluffy while crêpes are thin and flat.

Why are British pancakes flat instead to American fluffy pancakes? ›

In England, pancakes are often unleavened and resemble a crêpe. In Scotland and North America, a leavening agent is used (typically baking powder) creating a thick fluffy pancake.

Why are they called Dutch pancakes? ›

While these pancakes are derived from the German pancake dish, it is said that the name Dutch baby was coined by one of Victor Manca's daughters, where "Dutch" perhaps was her corruption of the German autonym deutsch. Manca's Cafe claimed that it owned the trademark for Dutch babies in 1942.

What do British people eat on pancakes? ›

The UK's Top 10 Favourite Pancake Day Toppings:
  • Lemon juice and sugar (34%)
  • Maple syrup or Honey (8%)
  • Nutella or Chocolate chips (7%)
  • Nutella and banana (6%)
  • Sugar only (6%)
  • Lemon juice only (4%)
  • Sugar and golden syrup (4%)
  • Ham and cheese or Vegetarian alternative (4%)
Feb 8, 2024

What do Brits call cookies? ›

Hard or crisp cookies are called biscuits in the U.K. while the chewier dessert can be identified as a cookie.

What do people in London call pancakes? ›

Not only are "flapjacks" their own thing in the UK, British cuisine also has a different understanding of what makes a pancake. Though they'll call it a "pancake," the British version is unleavened and closer to what we Yanks might call a crepe than the fluffy, pillowy food we tend to think of.

Why are restaurant pancakes so fluffy? ›

The secret to fluffy restaurant style pancakes? Buttermilk! The acid in the buttermilk reacts to the leavening agents in the pancake batter, creating air bubbles that make the pancakes tall and fluffy. It's a simple switch that makes all the difference.

What is an Elizabeth sandwich? ›

Ingredients. 2 slices soft white sandwich bread. butter. strawberry jam (or your favorite jam)

What did Queen Elizabeth like in her scrambled eggs? ›

Shortly after the Queen died in 2022, Australian nutritionist Lee Holmes revealed on her website that a close friend of hers once cooked for the Queen, noting that Her Majesty enjoyed her scrambled eggs prepared with nutmeg and lemon zest, according to the New York Post.

What are European pancakes called? ›

Palatschinke (or palaccinka, plural palatschinken) is a thin crêpe-like variety of pancake of Greco-Roman origin. The dessert is common in the Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe.

What do the French call their pancakes? ›

Crêpes are an ultra-thin pancake common in France that can be made sweet or savory, typically rolled or folded with a variety of fillings from jam or Nutella to ham and cheese to seafood.

What is a savoury pancake in France called? ›

Savoury crepes (called "galettes in French) are made solely of water, salt and buckwheat flour. This variety of batter is gluten-free. They are more savory than crepes and their color is brown. Galettes are generally filled with salty ingredients, although salted butter caramel can also be used.

What is the difference between American and Dutch pancakes? ›

What's the difference between a Dutch pancake and an American pancake? A Dutch pancake is usually larger and much thinner than the thick and fluffy American pancakes. If you order a Dutch pancake at PANCAKES Amsterdam, you will get a delicious thin pancake with a diameter of 32 centimeters.

What are American pancakes called in France? ›

The common word is “crêpe”. But if you refer to American or English ones, people use the English one. Otherwise, if you make pancakes with buckwheat only or a mix of wheat and buckwheat, you'll say “galettes” or “ crêpes salées”. If you make them for dessert, the word “une crêpe” or “une crêpe sucrée” is used.

What is the difference between French and American pancakes? ›

American pancakes are thicker and fluffier because of baking soda and/or baking powder. European pancakes are thinner made from a runnier mix. Crepes are even thinner and can have sugar in them.

What's the difference between German and American pancakes? ›

The difference between German and American pancakes is that German pancakes use more eggs than American pancakes and no leavening agent. German pancakes are also baked in a shallow dish (like a roasting pan or cast-iron skillet) while American pancakes are cooked on a griddle.

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