Category: Pancakes

Spinach Pancakes – 1

  • I kept hearing about spinach pancakes and looked for a good recipes.
  • In the end, I adapted my own pancake recipe
  • This version is the thin type – often called a crêpe or in Polish  naleśnik.
  • This is adapted the recipe the perfect pancake 
  • Using  less flour and
  • Less liquid.
  • *
  • Butter and oil for frying

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 100g fresh spinach
  • 200ml milk
  • 100ml water
  • 150g plain flour

Method

  • Shred the spinach in a mini-chopper or blender.
  • Mix the eggs with the milk and water.
  • Add the flour until well blended.
  • Add the spinach.
  • *
  • If you leave this batter for a while, you will have to mix up the spinach.
  • *
  • Get a pancake pan hot with a little oil and butter.
  • Use a standard ladle amount of batter to pour the mixture into the pan.
  • Tilt the pan so that the mixture covers the surface completely and evenly.
  • Cook the pancakes on one side and turn then over.
  • You can make them up one by one or stack then up with a piece of greaseproof paper in between them.
  • You can do this and leave then for later use.
  • Pancakes with sweet fillings are normally folded into triangles – fan -shaped  by folding the pancake into half and half again.
  • Pancakes with savoury fillings are normally rolled up.
  • *
  • Pancakes rolled up without a filling can be cut and used as noodles or added to soups.

 

Vegetable Pancakes

  • These pancakes are the thick American style pancakes.
  • You can use most cooked vegetables cut into small pieces.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • Pinch salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 200ml yoghurt
  • 150 – 200ml milk
  • 200g of cooked chopped vegetables
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying.

Vegetables – used 

  • Carrots
  • Whole green beans
  • Peas
  • Sweetcorn

Other suggestions 

  • Broccoli
  • Cauliflower
  • Chives (fresh)
  • Onions (fried in butter)
  • Peppers
  • Potatoes (boiled)

    Method

  • Beat the eggs, yoghurt and 150ml of milk together.
  • Mix the salt into the flour.
  • Add flour to the egg mix.
  • You are aiming for a thick batter – add more milk as required.
  • Chop all the vegetables into small pieces.
  • Make sure all the vegetables are dry.
  • Dry with a tea towel or kitchen roll as needed.
  • Mix the vegetables together.
  • Mix the vegetables into the batter.
  • *
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan.
  • Fry tablespoonfuls of  the mixture on both sides.

Serve with chopped chives or the green parts of spring onion.

Served here with tomato sauce.

Vintage Pyrex plates

Apple Pancakes 2

  • Looking through one of my Polish cookery books, I came across this recipe for a batter for racuszki with apples.
  • These are more like American style pancakes and I would call them apple fritters in England.
  • The original recipe used soured milk , so I used thick full fat Greek style yoghurt thinned down with water.
  • The original recipe used sweet eating apples but my Bramley apples are now ripe and I used one of these.
  • They were delicious and this will be my batter of choice from now on.

Ingredients

  • 1 Bramley apple or 2 eating apples
  • 1 egg
  • 100g plain flour
  • 125 ml thick full fat Greek style yoghurt
  • 60 ml of water (you might need a little more)
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • *
  • Sunflower oil to fry in
  • *
  • Icing sugar to dust.

Method

  • Mix the egg, yoghurt, water, flour and baking powder together.
  • You are aiming for a smooth, thick batter.
  • You may need to add a little more water.
  • Cover and leave to rest for 1 hour.
  • *
  • Peel and core the apple.
  • Cut into thin slices.
  • Put the apple slices into the batter and coat all the sides.
  • *
  • Fry the fritters in hot oil.
  • Turn them over to do both sides.
  • Take them out and put onto kitchen roll.
  • *
  • Keep them warm in a low oven whilst cooking the rest.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Yeast Pancakes

  • These would be called placuszki drożdżowe in Polish.
  • They are small American style pancakes.
  • They are similar to dropped scones in the north of England.
  • They are similar to bliny but made with wheat flour.
  • They are a variation on my bliny recipe and you could use half wheat and half buckwheat flour  (I intend to try this soon).

Ingredients

  • 170g plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon of dried yeast
  • 250ml of lukewarm milk.
  • 3½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
  • 50g of melted butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • *
  • Little bit of sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • In a bowl mix the yeast, 1 tablespoon of  sugar and 125ml of milk.
  • Leave for around 10 minutes to froth up.
  • In a large bowl mix the flour, salt and 2½ tablespoons of sugar.
  • Mix in the eggs, 125ml of milk and the butter.
  • Add the yeast mixture and mix well.
  • Cover the bowl (a shower cap is good) and leave to rise.
  • This will depend on the room temperature – mine took 90 minutes.
  • Use a cast iron gridle pan or similar.
  • Heat the pan up and add a little sunflower oil.
  • Place large tablespoons of batter on the pan.
  • Adjust the temperature to a medium heat so not to burn them.
  • Cook on both sides.
  • Keep in a warm oven whilst making more.
  • Serve sweet or savoury

Served here with caster sugar on La prune by Jet for Ter Steege of the Netherlands.

Mama’s Pouring Potato Pancakes

  • My mother once said that she had made some potato pancakes from boiled potatoes with the batter being of a pouring consistency.
  • She said the mixture was a similar to  krokiety kartoflane – potato croquettes.
  • Now I never actually tried these nor attempted to make them before.
  • This recipe is the result of a several tests with different quantities.

Ingredients

  • 200g cold boiled starchy potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons of plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 eggs
  • 200ml of milk
  • *
  • Sunflower oil and butter for frying

Method

  • Mash the potatoes so they are lump free.
  • Add the flour and salt.
  • Add the eggs and mix well.
  • Slowly add the milk , you might not need it all.
  • Mix until the batter is like double cream.
  • A Danish whisk is good for this.
  • Melt a small amount of butter and add a little oil to your pancake pan.
  • Use a ladle to measure out the batter and tip the pan to spread.
  • Turn and cook on both sides.

Served here with maple syrup – but will be good with savoury options too.

Sweetcorn Fritters

  • I have been making these for years but cannot remember where I got the recipe from.
  • Originally I used one small carton of natural yoghurt.
  • I now buy large pots of yoghurt and I use my 125ml measure instead.
  • I always use tinned sweetcorn but you can use frozen sweetcorn, cooked and cooled.
  • There are lots of ways to eat these – I often have then with grilled bacon and fried eggs.

Ingredients

  • 250g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 125ml of yoghurt
  • 125ml of milk – some extra might be needed.
  • 1 tin of sweetcorn (340g) – drained
  • ½ teaspoon of turmeric – optional
  • Sunflower oil to fry

Method

  • Put the flour and salt into a large bowl.
  • Make a well in the centre.
  • Add the eggs, yoghurt and milk.
  • Mix together – a Danish whisk is good for this.

  • Aim for a thick batter – add a little more milk if necessary
  • Add the sweetcorn and mix again.
  • Heat a little oil in a frying pan.
  • Drop large tablespoonfuls of the batter into the pan.
  • Cook on both sides.
  • Keep warm on a plate in the oven whilst making the rest.

Variations

Add some chopped spring onions or chives to the batter or chilli flakes or chopped chilies.

Fluffy Potato Pancakes

  • This is a very different pancake to the classic Polish raw grated potato pancake that I love.
  • It is a cross between a potato (krokiet) croquette  and an American style pancake.
  • They are made from boiled starchy potatoes.
  • The recipe below is for an amount to use with one egg.
  • This will make 6 pancakes.
  • I found that any that were left over did not reheat well so it is better just to make them in small amounts.
  • I served these with fried eggs and bacon.
  • Maple syrup also went very well with these.

Ingredients

  • 150g cold boiled starchy potatoes
  • 50g plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 5 tablespoons of milk
  • 3 spring onions or chives – chopped fine
  • *
  • Sunflower oil and butter for frying

Method

  • Have plate warming in a low oven.
  • Mash the potatoes till they are smooth.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  • Add the egg and milk and whisk together.
  • Stir in some of the chopped onions – leave a few to add when serving.
  • Heat the oil and butter mixture.
  • Fry large tablespoons of batter gently till golden on both sides.
  • Keep the first batch warm on the plate in the oven.
  • Fry the next batch.
  • *
  • Sprinkle with chopped  spring onions to serve.
  • Serve with fried egg and bacon.
  • Maple syrup is also delicious with these.

 

 

 

Carrot Pancakes – 2

  • I posted a recipe for carrot pancakes more than three years ago.
  • These are normally eaten as a sweet dish – usually served with sugar.
  • This recipe is for a savoury carrot pancake.
  • Both are the American style of pancake.
  • Both in Polish would be called racuszki (z marchwi).

Ingredients

  • 8 spring onions
  • 2eggs
  • 80ml of milk
  • 90g plain flour
  • ½ teaspoon of baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon of paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon of salt
  • 350g peeled and coarse grated carrots
  • Ground black pepper
  • Butter for frying the spring onions
  • Sunflower oil for frying the pancakes.

Method

  • Chop the white and green parts of the spring onions into little rounds.
  • Fry gently in butter with soft.
  • Leave to go cold completely.
  • Put the grated carrots into a clean tea towel and squeeze out excess liquid.
  • Pre-heat the oven to GM 1- 140°C.
  • Line a baking tray with kitchen paper and put this in the oven.
  • Mix the egg and milk together.
  • Mix the flour, baking powder, paprika and salt together.
  • Mix the flour mixture and the eggs and milk together till smooth.
  • Stir the carrots and spring onions into the mixture.
  • Add some ground black pepper.
  • A Danish whisk is good for mixing batter.
  • Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan.
  • Drop in tablespoons of the batter and flatten them slightly with the back of the spoon.
  • Fry on both sides until golden brown.
  • Lift onto the baking tray and keep in the oven whilst cooking the rest.
  • *
  • When first cooked the carrots are crunchy – they soften in the oven.
  • *
  • Serve as a starter with a yoghurt or soured cream sauce and some salad or
  • As a vegetable with a roast or with a gulasz.

 

Plate – Royal Doulton – Carnation , 1982-1998

Spring Onion Pancakes

  • I came across a recipe for adding spring onions to waffle mixtures.
  • I will have a go at this later but thought I would try out the idea with pancakes.

Ingredients

  • Pancake batter using 2 eggs
  • The green part of 7-8 spring onions or lots of chives.

Method

  • Mix up your pancake batter and leave to rest.
  • I made a 2 egg version using my perfect pancake recipe.
  • Leave to rest.
  • Use the green part of the spring onions and chop them finely.
  • Stir the chopped spring onions into the batter when you are starting to make them.
  • Make the pancakes as you usually do – you might want to make them slightly thicker.
  • Keep them warm in the oven separated with greaseproof if you want them all at the same time.
  • Fan fold the pancakes.
  • Pour maple syrup over them to serve.
  • *
  • Also delicious with grilled smoked bacon.

 

Apple Pancakes

  • Updated in October 2025 with another idea for a toppping.
  • At the moment there are lots of Bramley apples from the garden.
  • I often make pancakes – French style crepes and fill them with cooked apples.
  • I also make a slightly thicker type with chopped apples, a recipe from my mum’s sister, sort of apple fritters – racuszki -….. I posted this over 4 years ago.
  • I came across this recipe for – placki, which are more like an American pancake.
  • I think they would have been made originally with soured milk.
  • I have been told you can use kefir instead of yoghurt.
  • I weighed out the flour for this recipe but am sure if you make these often you will be able to judge the amount without getting out the scales.

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 cooking apples
  • 130g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 125ml of yoghurt
  • 2 eggs
  • Water (up to 60ml)
  • *
  • Sunflower oil for frying

Method

  • Peel the apples and grate them with a coarse grater.
  • Mix in the flour, salt and yoghurt.
  • Beat in the eggs.
  • Add enough water to make a very thick batter.
  • Fry tablespoons on a hot griddle or frying pan – you may need a little sunflower oil.
  • *
  • Best eaten hot – but you can keep them in a warm oven if you want to serve them all together.
  • *
  • Dust with icing sugar to serve.
  • *
  • Also delicious with some hot apple sauce with some ground cinnamon mixed in.
  • *
  • Also lovely sprinkled with granulated or caster sugar mixed with some cinamon.

Served on La Prune plates by Jet for Ter Steege of the Netherlands.