Fluffy buttermilk pancakes piled high with a bright, jammy blueberry and lemon compote and a slick of melting maple butter. This is my favourite breakfast treat, one I make every once in a while and for family birthdays. Sweet, tangy and worth getting out of bed for.
Ingredients
- For the pancakes
- 300 g Plain flour
- 60 g Granulated sugar
- 5 g Fine sea salt
- 0.25 tsp (1.5g) Bicarbonate of soda
- 13 g Baking powder
- 240 ml Buttermilk
- 1 Eggs
- 1 Eggs, yolk only
- 120 ml Whole milk
- 20 g Neutral oil
- 5 g Vanilla extract
- For the blueberry compote
- 300 g Blueberries
- 40 g Granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp (15g) Fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 Lemon zest, finely grated
- 1 pinch Fine sea salt
- For the maple butter
- 60 g Butter, cold, diced
- 60 g Maple syrup
- 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Non-stick frying pan or flat-top griddle
Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder together in a large bowl until evenly combined. Add the buttermilk, egg, egg yolk, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and mix with a hand mixer until just combined — a few lumps are fine.
Cover and rest at room temperature for 10–20 minutes.
Combine 2/3 of blueberries with the caster sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Cook until the berries burst and release their juices, about 5–8 minutes.
Stir in the remaining blueberries and cook for a further 2 minutes so some berries stay whole. If it still looks loose, simmer for another minute or two until it coats the back of a spoon, then remove from the heat to cool slightly.
Warm the maple syrup in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering, then remove from the heat. Gradually whisk in the cold diced butter, a few pieces at a time, until fully emulsified and smooth.
Stir in a pinch of salt and keep warm until serving.
Heat a non-stick frying pan or flat-top griddle over a medium heat. Ladle the batter into the pan in rounds, leaving space between each. Cook in batches if needed.
Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set, then flip and cook the second side until deeply golden and cooked through — about 2–3 minutes per side.
Stack the pancakes on warmed plates. Spoon over the blueberry compote and finish with the warm maple butter.
Notes & Substitutions
Blueberries: Frozen blueberries work just as well as fresh in the compote and don’t need defrosting, go straight from the freezer into the pan, allowing a minute or two longer for it to come up to a simmer.
Make-ahead: The compote can be made ahead and warmed before serving. The batter needs to be made fresh, since the baking powder loses potency once mixed and rested for too long.
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Buttermilk Pancakes
COOKED
PROPERLY
Ingredients
- 300 g Plain flour
- 60 g Granulated sugar
- 5 g Fine sea salt
- 0.25 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- 13 g Baking powder
- 240 ml Buttermilk
- 1 Eggs
- 1 Eggs (yolk only)
- 120 ml Whole milk
- 20 g Neutral oil
- 5 g Vanilla extract
- 300 g Blueberries
- 40 g Granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
- 0.5 Lemon zest (finely grated)
- 1 pinch Fine sea salt
- 60 g Butter (cold, diced)
- 60 g Maple syrup
- 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Equipment
- Hand mixer
- Non-stick frying pan or flat-top griddle
Method
Make and rest the batter
300 g Plain flour · 60 g Granulated sugar · 5 g Fine sea salt · 0.25 tsp Bicarbonate of soda · 13 g Baking powder · 240 ml Buttermilk · 1 Eggs · 1 Eggs · 120 ml Whole milk · 20 g Neutral oil · 5 g Vanilla extract
Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, bicarbonate of soda, and baking powder together in a large bowl until evenly combined. Add the buttermilk, egg, egg yolk, milk, oil, and vanilla extract and mix with a hand mixer until just combined — a few lumps are fine.
Cover and rest at room temperature for 10–20 minutes.
Make the blueberry compote
300 g Blueberries · 40 g Granulated sugar · 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice · 0.5 Lemon zest · 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Combine 2/3 of blueberries with the caster sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and a pinch of salt in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Cook until the berries burst and release their juices, about 5–8 minutes.
Stir in the remaining blueberries and cook for a further 2 minutes so some berries stay whole. If it still looks loose, simmer for another minute or two until it coats the back of a spoon, then remove from the heat to cool slightly.
Frozen blueberries work just as well as fresh and don’t need defrosting first — they release their juice as they heat, so go straight from the freezer into the pan.
Make the maple butter
60 g Butter · 60 g Maple syrup · 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Warm the maple syrup in a small saucepan until hot but not simmering, then remove from the heat. Gradually whisk in the cold diced butter, a few pieces at a time, until fully emulsified and smooth.
Stir in a pinch of salt and keep warm until serving.
If the mixture looks split or greasy rather than smooth, take it off the heat and whisk in a teaspoon of cold water — this usually brings the emulsion back together.
Cook the pancakes
Heat a non-stick frying pan or flat-top griddle over a medium heat. Ladle the batter into the pan in rounds, leaving space between each. Cook in batches if needed.
Cook until bubbles form across the surface and the edges look set, then flip and cook the second side until deeply golden and cooked through — about 2–3 minutes per side.
Keep the heat at medium rather than high. Too hot and the outside colours before the raising agents have finished working, leaving a doughy centre under a dark crust.
Serve
Stack the pancakes on warmed plates. Spoon over the blueberry compote and finish with the warm maple butter.
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Equipment worth having
The wok costs £25. The heat underneath it is what you're really paying for.
£10-£25
The wok costs £25. The heat underneath it is what you're really paying for.
£10-£25
The wok costs £25. The heat underneath it is what you're really paying for.
£10-£25
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