Sweeter Pancakes

Asked by Yellowchicken123. Answered on 9th January 2019

Full question

I tried Nigella's American Pancakes for the first time and they were perfect. I would prefer them a little sweeter and that’s why I understand they’re served with something additional, either sweet (maple syrup, etc) or savoury (bacon). However I prefer nothing additional just sweeter pancakes so would like to know how much sugar in total would be required for the recipe to make them extra sweet?

Also what is the best butter to use for frying as it tends to get burnt despite the low-medium gas? I tried oil and it was slightly better.

American Breakfast Pancakes

By Nigella

Our answer

Nigella's [American Breakfast Pancakes](from HOW TO BE A DOMESTIC GODDESS) do not have added sugar in the mixture as Nigella prefers to serve them with maple syrup. It is possible to add some sugar to the mixture but you need to be careful as adding sugar will make the pancakes brown more quickly when they are cooked. We would suggest adding no more than around 20g (2 tablespoons) of sugar to the flour when making the pancakes. This will sweeten the pancakes slightly but will not make them cloyingly sweet. Use regular white (granulated) or caster (superfine) sugar.

The pancakes will need to be cooked on a medium heat and you may need to watch the first couple of batches carefully, adjusting the heat under the pan as necessary to make sure that the pancakes do not brown too quickly, which would leave the inside of the pancakes undercooked. Cooking the pancakes with butter gives a good flavour and we suggest using unsalted butter. If you are using a low to medium heat then the butter should not burn too easily. However you can use a half and half combination of flavourless vegetable oil and butter as an alternative.