My Family’s Favourite Pancakes
This recipe is my family’s favourite Sunday brunch, especially in spring and summer when the temperatures soar. It’s a relatively new addition to our repertoire and a delicious reminder that my other half is Canadian.
Over the years, we’ve tried all sorts of variations — different ingredients (see tips below), different cooking times — and while most of them make perfectly good pancakes, the version below is the one my family unanimously agrees is the best.
Most of us enjoy these pancakes with fruit and drenched in maple syrup (Canadian, of course!). My sister prefers hers with savoury accompaniments like cheese or ham. There’s truly no wrong way to eat them.
And honestly, once you make them, you’ll understand why they’ve become such a staple at our table. They’re light, tasty, and wonderfully adaptable. Give them a try this weekend — I promise they’ll become one of your favourites too!
Serves 4 (makes about 3 to 4 pancakes per person; quantities can easily be divided for less or doubled for more)
Ingredients
4 Medium or Large eggs (precise size does not matter)
200 gr of full-fat crème fraîche (ideally French)
200 gr self-raising flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
½ teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cooking oil (to use only if the frying pan usually sicks)
Maple syrup to serve
Fruit to serve (the photo has strawberries, blueberries and melon)
Optional: mixed seeds to serve
Equipment
1 large mixing bowl
1 hand whisk
1 tablespoon
1 spatula
1 large non-stick frying pan
1 large oven tray
Method
1. Add all the ingredients to the bowl and mix well with the whisk. If you want to make sure there are no lumps, you can first mix the eggs and crème fraîche, and then add the dry ingredients.
2. Let the pancake batter rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 10 minutes. During this time, small bubbles will start to appear in the mixture.
3. Meanwhile, heat the frying pan over medium‑high heat (or 6 out of 9 on electric or induction) for the same 10 minutes. If you’re using a gas hob, you may not need to heat the pan for the full 10 minutes.
4. When the pan is very hot, lower the heat to 5, and spoon 1 tablespoon of batter into the centre. (If you’re using cooking oil, make sure to coat the pan before adding the batter.)
5. Cook on one side until the edges look set and bubbles start rising to the surface as in the photo below — on my hob, this takes about 1 minute 30 seconds. Turn the pancake with the help of a spatula and cook for an additional minute.
6. Transfer the pancake to an oven tray and keep it under a slightly moist tea towel. You can also place the tray in the oven at 40°C fan or 60°C conventional to keep the pancakes warm.
7. Repeat with the remaining batter. Depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to cook two or three pancakes at a time. You may also need to adjust the heat from 5 back to 6 is the pancakes become to light in colour or take well longer than 1h 30m to cook on first side.
8. Serve with your favourite fruit and plenty of maple syrup.
Tips:
Typical Canadian pancakes are made with buttermilk, but since it’s not always easy to find, and after much trial and error, I now use full-fat crème fraîche. Alternatives include Greek yogurt, sour cream, plain kefir, or even a combination of these.
Don’t skip the baking soda — it’s the reaction between the baking soda, self‑raising flour, and crème fraîche that makes the pancakes rise beautifully.
You can replace self‑raising flour with plain flour plus 2 teaspoons of baking powder.
The first pancake is always for the chef — it never turns out perfect because the heat always needs a little adjusting!