10 top tips for tip-top pancakes

Since we assume you’ve got the quintessential Dutch pancake well under control, here are ten top tips for the very best American pancakes.

A cousin of our poffertje, the successor to the Dutch pancake–moped–truck tire and a distant friend of regional favorite Drie in de pan, these deliciously thick, fluffy little pancakes are your new best friend for breakfast, lunch and dessert. Tip number eleven: freeze leftover pancakes and give them a quick blast in the microwave for midnight munchies.

1. Baking soda must not be more than 30 days old

The pancakes are so wonderfully light and airy because they contain a little baking soda. Baking soda: always good to have in the kitchen, because you can also use it to clean baked-on oven dishes and soak legumes (and I wouldn’t be surprised if baking soda also loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the countertop in the evening while everyone was asleep, it’s that versatile). But there’s one thing it can’t do: sit in your kitchen cupboard for a long time. So invest a whopping 2 euros in a new box, write the date on it and throw it away after thirty days.

2. Use buttermilk or a squeeze of lemon

Baking soda only starts working when something acidic is added. That’s why many Americans make their pancakes with buttermilk. Don’t have any in the fridge? Use regular milk and add a squeeze of lemon juice.

3. Don’t stir the batter for too long

Stir the batter together with a large spoon – don’t put the mixer in it! – and definitely don’t stir for too long. It’s enough if everything is more or less mixed; the occasional lump is absolutely fine. Stirring for too long causes the flour to form gluten, which means tough pancakes.

4. Don’t make the batter in advance

That works perfectly well with regular Dutch pancakes, but absolutely not with American pancakes. Not even an hour beforehand. If you want to be ready quickly, you can weigh out and set out the ingredients in advance, but any more preparation isn’t helpful.

5. Use a large pan

The pancakes won’t be large, about 10 to 15 centimeters in diameter – but you do need a spacious, flat pan. A heavy pan with a thick base is best: it stays firmly in place, distributes the heat evenly and ensures that your pancakes don’t burn.

6. Don’t add too much chocolate, berries or other ingredients to the batter

You can always pile them on later; no one’s stopping you. But too many of these flavorings in the batter will make the pancakes burn more quickly. Crispy is delicious, but burnt is definitely a no go.

7. Don’t use butter, use oil

Butter burns in the frying pan, especially after frying two or three batches. So use a little peanut oil or sunflower oil to fry the pancakes. For that delicious flavor, you can melt a small knob of butter over the hot pancakes once they’re on your plate… hmmm… Don’t have a suitable oil at home? Then it’s a good idea to wipe the pan clean with a piece of paper towel after two batches. This removes the browned butter. It saves you a smoke-blackened extractor hood and black edges on the pancakes.

8. Flip on time

What does “on time” mean? Not too early, so not when the batter on top of your pancakes is still completely soft and gooey. But not too late either, when smoke is coming from underneath the pancakes. Ready to flip? Use a flat spatula and turn the pancake over quickly. It takes a little practice, but you’ll learn fast.

9. Buy delicious syrup, such as maple syrup

It’ll cost you an arm and a leg, that’s for sure. But American pancakes are really meant to be eaten with maple syrup. You can buy it at the supermarket; it may be in the diet-food section, where it’s called “ahorn siroop.” Trust us: the flavor is so incredibly deliciously caramel-like that you’ll never want to use regular pancake syrup again.

10. Bake a test pancake first

Because the first pancake always goes wrong, right? That’s your test pancake. After the first one, the pan is perfectly hot, properly greased and the batter is well mixed. Happy baking!

How to make them:

Heat the oil in the pan (or melt butter in a saucepan or in the microwave if you insist on using butter).

Stir the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder together well in a bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, melted butter and egg.

Mix briefly with a wooden spoon. A few lumps are fine.

Heat a frying pan with a thick base. Grease it with a cloth dipped in oil.

Spoon three dollops of batter into the pan, for example using a gravy ladle. The batter is thick, so it spreads out a little and the dollops become circles.

When small bubbles appear on top of the pancake, you can turn them over.

Stack a few on your plate and serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, fruit, yogurt or syrup.

Also read:

• Recipe: 5 x next-level pancakes
• Supergood superfood: Jamie Oliver’s spinach pancakes
• 7 x pancakes from around the world