American pancakes. The best!

Ingredients

• 350g/12oz self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 200ml/7fl oz buttermilk (can be made with mixing normal SS milk with 1tbs lemon juice.)
• 400ml/14fl oz semi-skimmed milk
• 2 free-range eggs
• 85g/3oz unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for frying
• 12 rashers smoked streaky bacon
• 50ml/2fl oz maple syrup

Method

1. In a bowl, sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar.
2. In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the buttermilk, milk, eggs and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Do not overbeat – stir just to combine.
3. Melt a small knob of butter in a large frying pan. Using a ladle, pour some batter into the pan to make a pancake. Depending on the size of the pan, you may be able to make more than one pancake at a time, or if you are confident you can use two pans at the same time.
4. Cook the pancakes for about a minute, or until the underside is golden brown and the top is bubbling. Turn them over using a palette knife or fish slice and cook for another minute. Keep the pancakes warm in a very low oven while you cook the remaining batter.
5. Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium–hot. Lay the bacon on a grill tray lined with foil and brush with some of the maple syrup. Grill until one side of the bacon is crisp. Turn over and brush the other side with maple syrup and cook until crisp.
6. Serve the pancakes stacked on top of each other, topped with grilled bacon and drizzled with maple syrup.