American Pancakes

Pancakes are pancakes, right? Yes, but you got the French thin rolling type normally called "crepe" and the American thicker version. Both are amazingly good but I just felt very "North American" this weekend. Although I have a very strong French heritage (Gagnon is my last name... come on... can you get more French than that ;) ), thick pancakes were calling my name!

The recipe for pancakes is super easy and is basically the same for both. The difference comes with the consistency of the batter. The crepe calls for a very liquid batter that can be swirled around quickly in the pan and form a very thin layer. The pancake is a bit thicker.

American Pancakes

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 egg
salt
butter

In a bowl, shift the flour and salt. It helps a lot to remove the lumps.

Add the egg and milk and whisk until the batter is at the required consistency and lump-free.

Let it rest a few minutes to let the flour set.

Heat a small pan and add a bit of butter. You only need to add the butter for the first pancake. The rest don't need it as the heat will be perfect for them.

Right before the butter turns brown, add a ladle of the batter to the pan (if you don't have a ladle, about 3 tbsps).

When the liquid starts cooking on top and you feel confortable flipping it (too much liquid can make a mess when you flip it... trust me!), flip it over.

The color is a bit off as any first pancake. The rest come out great afterwards. One recipe usually makes 6 pancakes.

If you want a more Crepe texture, add more milk and use less batter for each pancake swirling it around in the pan to shape it.

Serve with maple syrup, nutella, butter... whatever suits your fancy! But honestly, being a true Canadian, there is nothing like maple syrup on pancakes! :)