A recipe for American-style blueberry pancakes

We have a birthday tradition in our house that sees the day starting with a party-style breakfast… and blueberry pancakes. The night before, I lay the table with a party table cloth, paper plates and cups, and toys or decorations for whatever the theme is. The birthday boy or girl even gets to wear a special birthday hat.

Today was my middle child’s third birthday and he came downstairs to find a pirate-themed table, decorated with pirate plates, cups, pirate toys and so on. It makes the day a bit more exciting and special, especially this year as for the first time his big sister had to miss her brother’s birthday and go to school all day. It was very strange without her here, but at least she got to start the day with some birthday fun.

Birthday breakfasts in our house are always American-style blueberry pancakes, by special request of my children. And luckily for me, Cardiff Daddy always makes them. I do about 90% of the cooking in our house but what he does, he does well – and Cardiff Daddy’s blueberry pancakes are legendary. Anyone who has stayed overnight at our house in the last few years will have been treated to these in the morning. We have a gang of friends who we regularly have brunch with and the pancakes always go down well with adults and children alike.

I have called them Cardiff Daddy’s pancakes but, in fairness, the recipe came from in a magazine many years ago and we’ve tweaked it over the years. They’re so simple to make but they’re a lovely alternative to cereal or toast when you want to make breakfast a bit more special. Slightly crisp on the outside and soft inside, the blueberries go all soft and oozy when they are cooked. I’m getting hungry just thinking about them!

Here’s the recipe…

A recipe for American-style blueberry pancakes

Makes 12-14 pancakes
Serves 4

Ingredients

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 egg

300ml semi-skimmed milk

1 tsp sunflower oil

150g blueberries

Maple syrup or Golden Syrup to serve

1. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and sunflower oil.

3. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, then pour in the milk mixture and stir to make a thick batter. Do not over-mix – it is okay if there are a few lumps in the batter, as long as everything appears wet.

3. Fold in the blueberries and set aside.

4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper dipped in sunflower oil until very thinly coated with oil. Drop 2 large tbsp of batter per pancake into the pan, making 3 or 4 pancakes at a time. Cook for 2-3 minutes until small bubbles appear on the surface of each pancake and the edges appear dry, then carefully flip and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until golden. Keep warm while you make the rest of the pancakes.

5. Serve with more blueberries and a little maple or golden syrup as a treat.

Let me know if you give these a go. I promise, they are delightful!

Do you have any birthday breakfast traditions in your house? I’d love to know what other families get up to on their special days.

For more of my family-friendly recipes, see the Food channel of Cardiff Mummy Says.

You might also like to try making these healthier banana, peanut butter and raisin flapjacks.