Buttermilk gives these pancakes their lift and a faint tang plain milk can't match. A slow-cooked blueberry compote and a maple butter that's whisked rather than just melted turn a simple stack into something worth getting up for — make the batter once, let it rest, and the rest comes together in the time it takes to heat a pan.
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 g 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
- 30 ml Water
- 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
Method
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, water, 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.
Buttermilk: If you don’t have any, stir a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar into the milk and leave for 10 minutes before using — it won’t have quite the same depth, but it gives the same tang and reaction with the bicarbonate of soda.
Maple butter: Keeps in the fridge for up to a week. It will firm up once chilled — rewarm gently in a small saucepan or in short bursts in the microwave before serving.
Make-ahead: The compote and maple butter can both be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated separately; warm gently before serving. The batter is best made fresh, since the baking powder loses potency once mixed and rested for too long.
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Buttermilk Pancakes
Buttermilk gives these pancakes their lift and a faint tang plain milk can't match. A slow-cooked blueberry compote and a maple butter that's whisked rather than just melted turn a simple stack into something worth getting up for — make the batter once, let it rest, and the rest comes together in the time it takes to heat a pan.
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 g 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)
- 30 ml Water
- 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
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.
For this step: 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 g Whole milk, 20 g Neutral oil, 5 g Vanilla extract
Make the blueberry compote
Combine 2/3 of blueberries with the caster sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, water, 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.
For this step: 300 g Blueberries, 40 g Granulated sugar, 1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice, 0.5 Lemon zest, 30 ml Water, 1 pinch Fine sea salt
Make the maple butter
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.
For this step: 60 g Butter, 60 g Maple syrup, 1 pinch Fine sea salt
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.
Serve
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.
Buttermilk: If you don’t have any, stir a tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar into the milk and leave for 10 minutes before using — it won’t have quite the same depth, but it gives the same tang and reaction with the bicarbonate of soda.
Maple butter: Keeps in the fridge for up to a week. It will firm up once chilled — rewarm gently in a small saucepan or in short bursts in the microwave before serving.
Make-ahead: The compote and maple butter can both be made up to three days ahead and refrigerated separately; warm gently before serving. The batter is best made fresh, since the baking powder loses potency once mixed and rested for too long.
Free guide: How to Cook Properly
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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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