Charlotte Pike

This is one of my favourite pancake recipes. The cherries make a very nice accompaniment, but other fresh or poached seasonal fruits work fantastically well too. Poached apples and blackberries are delicious, as are pears with vanilla or rum, as is poached rhubarb and orange. Fresh berries are excellent when at their best.

Fluffy Pancakes with Poached Cherries and Cream

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the pancakes

200ml whole milk

1tsp lemon juice

50g butter, plus possibly a little extra to cook the pancakes

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

50g caster sugar

Pinch sea salt

1 egg, separated

For the poached cherries

500g cherries, pitted (frozen are fine)

125g caster sugar

Juice and zest of a large orange

1 small cinnamon stick

100ml water

To serve

250ml double cream, softly whipped

 

Method

First, poach the cherries. Put all the ingredients together into a small saucepan. Simmer gently for around 15 minutes until the cherries are softened. Taste, adjust the sugar levels if needed, and set aside to cool.

Softly whip the cream and place in the fridge to chill.

Now, move on to the pancakes. Start by putting the milk into a little jug and add the lemon juice. Set aside. Next, melt the butter in a large frying pan into which you will cook the pancakes later on. When the butter is melted, turn off the heat and set aside too.

Take a large mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder and caster sugar. Take a whisk and stir together. Add the milk, melted butter and egg yolk and whisk this thick batter together until smooth. Separately, whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks, and fold into the batter.

Heat the pan over a moderate heat, adding a little extra butter if needed. Spoon the pancake batter into the pan, a few spoons at a time and cook the pancakes on both sides until browned, puffy and the batter has set. Serve the pancakes hot, with poached cherries and whipped cream.