I don’t know why but I always associate the beginning of spring with pancakes.  Unlike the northern hemisphere where spring coincides with Easter, and pancakes are traditionally eaten prior to embarking on Lent, ours is more to do with the fact that the chooks are finally starting to lay! With the price of feed going up as we speak there has been some dark mutterings around here about “useless eaters”.  Perhaps the sound of the axe being sharpened has finally spurred them on as they are certainly rewarding us now.  All those chickens have turned into young pullets and are finally giving us some eggs. And as lemons are also in good supply then now’s the time for that magic combination of topping: lemon and sugar.

So pancakes are on the menu!  Here is my pancake hack for you.  This is ideal for the little helpers in your house hold to join in, saves extra bowls and saves on mess.

Pancake Recipe.

• For every cup of flour use 2 eggs.  
• ¼ cup of sugar (optional but I find it just gives the right taste)
• Approximately 1 cup of milk per 1 cup of flour
• Clean empty 2 litre plastic milk bottle
• Funnel

I find this makes around 6 pancakes so double for a bigger family or more.

Method.

• Pour the milk into the bottle and then add the eggs.  Break them into the funnel and have fun watching them drop down into the bottle.  Good task for the kids.
• Add the sugar then put the lid on and shake the liquid mix thoroughly until the eggs and milk have combined.
• It might help to wash and dry the funnel but it doesn’t really matter if a bit of flour sticks to it.
• Put in the flour about half a cup at a time, put the lid back on and give it a good shake each time.
• Repeat until the flour is well mixed. You are looking for a pouring cream type consistency. Adjust if necessary adding more milk if too thick or more flour if too thin.
• This mixture will benefit by standing for a while so you can make it up early in the morning or even the night before.
• Then simply give the bottle another shake, take the lid off and pour the amount you want into a hot pan sizzling with a knob of butter as per usual. Pour in about 1/3 of a cup and gently tilt the pan to get the pancake spread you are after. 
• When you can see it has cooked (the colour will change) gently flip over for a few seconds longer.  Slide onto a plate and cover with another plate to keep warm until ready to be eaten.