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These pancakes have long been a standard in our household. I cannot say that the formula is better than others. It has been such a hit with family and guests that I have had little incentive to look at alternatives.

I am sure these cakes can be made with a thick batter, but we have preferred them thin, like a crepe about 1/8 inch thick, cooked rapidly to a rich, dark brown. Such evenly browned pancakes are not only dramatic visually, but cook quickly. There are two keys: hot griddle and thin batter.

We used to cook these on a large cast iron skillet, but later acquired a rectangular griddle spanning two burners on the stove. We have not used this griddle generally as much as expected, but it has proven just the thing for pancakes.

The finished pancakes freeze well.

Serves 4

To mix batter

Melt the butter and set aside.

Place flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk.

In the second bowl, beat the egg with the whisk 20 to 30 seconds. Gradually add melted butter, whisking all the while. Stir in milk, all at once if you wish.

Pour milk mixture onto the dry ingredients. Mix them together with a spatula as gently as possible. Avoid kneading the dough, which will toughen it.

Thin with water as necessary. Batter should not be stiff, but like a creamy soup.

(May be done ahead of time to this point.)

Standing

The batter may be used immediately, but is best if allowed to stand for more thorough mixing. Ten minutes standing is good, 30 minutes better. Batter will thicken with standing. (This is a good time to warm plates, warm syrup, prepare other toppings, check the Sunday comics, etc.)

Batter for evenly browned pancakes

This is probably thinner than you are used to, unless you make crepes. To test consistency, pour a teaspoon of batter on a cold plate. The batter should not stay in place, but flow outward after hitting the plate to form a pool 1/8 inch thick at most.

As batter sits, it thickens. Therefore check consistency just before cooking, thinning with water as necessary.

To heat griddle

Have everything else ready before heating.

Turn on heat to medium or medium high. When griddle is slightly warm, melt a thin film of butter over the surface. This should not again be necessary during the session.

Heat a cast iron griddle at medium until a spoonful of water dropped on the griddle surface almost immediately breaks up into small beads. (Yes, that hot.) Heating may take awhile, especially for a large griddle. My two-burner griddle takes 10 to 15 minutes.

To Pour

Select a spoon with 2 tablespoon capacity, more or less as desired.

Test first with a trial teaspoon of batter on the griddle. Pancake should become a rich, dark brown in a few seconds. If not, the griddle needs to be hotter. The trial pancake should be no more than 1/8 inch thick.

The griddle should never smoke. If it does at any point, turn heat down immediately.

Once you start production, pancakes should take 10 to 15 seconds each side.

On Top

Melted butter and maple syrup are the classic.

For a change try lingonberry preserves topped with yogurt or sour cream.

These are very delicate. Ricotta replaces half the flour in the recipe above, as well as all the sugar and butter.

Serves 4

To mix batter

Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix well with a wire whisk.

To lighten the ricotta, whip it in a food processor. (Or push through a sieve.)

Place the ricotta in a second bowl. Stir in a little milk. When absorbed into the paste, add more milk. Proceed gradually so that milk is well mixed into the ricotta.

In a third bowl, beat the egg with the whisk 20 to 30 seconds. Stir the beaten egg into the ricotta mixture.

Pour milk mixture onto the dry ingredients. Mix them together as gently as possible. Avoid kneading the dough, which will toughen it.

Thin with water as necessary. Batter should not be stiff, but like a creamy soup.

(May be done ahead of time to this point.)

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