Warm pancakes make breakfast on a cold winter morning seem like the best meal of the day. Pancakes are super easy to make, but many recipes call for buttermilk, which takes time to make. So this can be a real put off.

I have been on the lookout for a recipe that carries simple ingredients always in our pantry, and found this super easy orange pancake recipe that results in super soft and delicious pancakes.

It yields about 8-10 pancakes.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups flour
• 4 teaspoon baking powder
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon orange rind
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup or 60g butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients — the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar — and mix with a spoon to combine well. Set to the side.

In another bowl, crack in the egg and add milk, orange juice and vanilla extract. Melt the butter slightly in the microwave, but don’t heat it too much. Add to the wet mixture and beat with a hand or electric beater, until just combined.

Now add the dry ingredients in the wet ingredient bowl, or the other way round, it really doesn’t matter. Add a teaspoon of orange rind and fold the batter together until there is no dry flour. You can just give the batter a very quick mix with the beater to make it smoother, but don’t overbeat as the pancakes will become rubbery and tough.

Let the batter rest for 10-15 minutes for the baking powder to work its magic to give you soft, fluffy pancakes.

Heat a heavy based frying pan over medium to low heat. Add just a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil, or some butter, and, using a large serving spoon, pour a spoonful in the frying pan. If you want larger pancakes, use two spoonfuls of the batter. Let it spread on its own.

Cook the pancake for 2-3 minutes, or until the edges are set and bubbles are popping in the middle. Carefully flip the pancake over and cook for 2-3 minutes more.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve the pancakes stacked high, topped with your favourite syrup or honey, like I did, and some cream frosting, garnished with the remaining lemon rind.

The writer Instagrams @the_experimentalcook

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 17th, 2022