20 Pancake Topping Ideas (Beyond Lemon and Sugar)

Lemon and sugar is the correct answer. It has been the correct answer for hundreds of years and it will continue to be. But if you want the other answers, here they are.

Classic upgrades

These stay within the spirit of the British pancake but add one more layer of interest:

• Lemon curd, richer, sharper, and more complex than lemon juice alone. Spread thinly and roll.
• Clotted cream and jam, cream tea energy, in pancake form. Raspberry or strawberry jam works best.
• Honey and salted butter. The fat in the butter cuts the sweetness of the honey. Slightly warm honey works better than cold.
• Golden syrup, the under-used British option. Excellent with a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the sweetness.

Chocolate

• Nutella: the obvious move. Spread it thinly so it does not overpower the pancake itself.
• Dark chocolate sauce, better than Nutella if you have five minutes. Melt 80g dark chocolate with 60ml double cream and a pinch of sea salt. Pour warm.
• Peanut butter and chocolate chips bring American energy that works on thin British pancakes too. Warm the peanut butter first so it spreads.
• White chocolate and raspberries, melted white chocolate drizzled over a folded pancake with fresh raspberries. Best served immediately.

Fruit

• Strawberries and whipped cream, the summer classic, transplanted to February.
• Blueberries and Greek yogurt: lighter than cream, slightly tangy, genuinely good.
• Caramelised banana. Slice, fry in butter and brown sugar for three minutes. Transforms a plain pancake into something that feels like dessert.
• Mango and lime, bright and tropical. Works better on thicker pancakes than thin ones.
• Stewed plums: richer and more complex than you expect. Makes the pancake feel like a proper pudding. Cook plums with sugar and a splash of orange juice until soft.

Indulgent

• Vanilla ice cream. The hot pancake melts the ice cream from underneath. No further effort required.
• Salted caramel sauce: make it yourself (butter, brown sugar, cream, sea salt) or use a good jar. Bonne Maman's salted caramel is reliably excellent and available in most supermarkets.
• Crème fraîche and brown sugar: the crème fraîche cuts sweetness with acidity. Spoon on, sprinkle sugar, roll immediately.
• Crushed biscuits and cream, Lotus Biscoff spread with crushed biscuits, or digestives with whipped cream. More than the sum of its parts.

Savoury

• Smoked salmon and crème fraîche: squeeze of lemon, a few capers if you have them. The adult option at a table of mixed ages.
• Bacon and maple syrup, the sweet-savoury combination that needs no further justification. Crispy back bacon works better than streaky here.
• Brie and cranberry sauce: fold the pancake over a slice of ripe Brie and a spoonful of cranberry, press lightly in the pan for 30 seconds, and serve immediately.

One rule

Whatever you choose, add it to a warm pancake. Most toppings - sauces, fruit compotes, chocolate, anything containing fat - perform significantly better at temperature. A cold pancake with a cold topping is technically the same ingredients, but it is not the same thing.