Easy

American Flapjack Pancakes

Name: American Flapjack Pancakes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 200g plain flour; 1½ tsp baking powder; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 2 tbsp caster sugar; ½ tsp fine salt; 300ml buttermilk, If you don't have buttermilk, stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into 300ml whole milk and leave for 5 minutes; 2 large eggs; 50g unsalted butter, For browning - plus extra for cooking; 1 tsp vanilla extract

Prep 15 minsCook 20 minsServes 4£0.70/servingAmerican Stack

When Americans say "flapjacks", this is what they mean - thick, cloud-soft buttermilk pancakes with a rich, nutty flavour from browned butter. The buttermilk reacts with bicarbonate of soda to give them extraordinary lightness; the browned butter adds depth that plain melted butter cannot touch. Stack them high, drown them in maple syrup.

American Flapjack Pancakes - american stack pancake recipe served on a plate, photographed from above

Ingredients

200g (1½ cups)plain flour
1½ tspbaking powder
½ tspbicarbonate of soda
2 tbspcaster sugar
½ tspfine salt
300ml (1¼ cups)buttermilk, If you don't have buttermilk, stir 1 tbsp lemon juice into 300ml whole milk and leave for 5 minutes
2 largeeggs
50g (3½ tbsp)unsalted butter, For browning - plus extra for cooking
1 tspvanilla extract

Method

1
Brown the butter: melt the 50g butter in a small light-coloured saucepan over medium heat. Swirl occasionally. The butter will foam, then the foam will subside, and the milk solids at the bottom will turn a deep golden brown and smell nutty - about 4 minutes. Pour immediately into a small bowl and leave to cool.
Tip
Use a light-coloured pan so you can see the colour of the butter clearly. It goes from golden to burnt very quickly; watch it carefully.
2
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
3
In a jug, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, cooled browned butter, and vanilla.
4
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold together with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix - lumps are correct. Rest the batter for 5 minutes.
Tip
The resting time activates the raising agents; you will see the batter become slightly airy and bubbly on the surface.
5
Heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat. Add a small knob of butter and swirl to coat. Medium-low is correct here - buttermilk pancakes benefit from gentle, even heat.
6
Pour approximately 80ml (⅓ cup) of batter per flapjack. Cook until bubbles appear across most of the surface and the edges look set and matte, about 2-3 minutes.
7
Flip once, gently, and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until the underside is golden and the centre is cooked through. The flapjack should feel springy, not soft, when pressed.
8
Serve immediately in a tall stack with maple syrup and cold butter. The contrast between the warm flapjacks, cold butter, and cool syrup is part of the experience.

Pro Tips

→Browned butter is the secret - it adds a nutty, caramelised depth that plain melted butter cannot. Do not skip this step.
→Buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda is a more reactive combination than milk and baking powder alone, which is why these flapjacks are especially tall and light.
→For dairy-free flapjacks, use plant-based buttermilk (plant milk + lemon juice) and vegan butter. The result is slightly less rich but still very good.

Topping Ideas

Maple syrup and cold unsalted butter - essentialFresh blueberries cooked briefly in a pan with butter and maple syrup to make a quick compoteSliced strawberries and whipped creamCrispy bacon and maple syrupLemon curd and thick Greek yoghurt

Learn More

Terms in this recipe

Buttermilk Baking powder Hotcake Flapjack

Defined in the Pancake Day glossary.

Questions & answers

Are flapjacks the same as pancakes in America?⌄

Yes. In American English, "flapjack" and "pancake" refer to the same food. "Flapjack" is the older, more informal term, associated with diner culture and the American frontier. In the UK, however, a flapjack is something completely different - a baked oat bar.

What does brown butter do in pancakes?⌄

Browning butter drives off the water and caramelises the milk solids, producing a deep, nutty, toffee-like flavour that plain melted butter does not have. In pancakes, it adds a subtle richness that makes the batter taste more complex without changing the texture.

What can I use instead of buttermilk?⌄

Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to 300ml of whole milk. Stir and leave for 5 minutes - the milk will curdle slightly, producing a workable buttermilk substitute. The result is slightly less tangy than real buttermilk but gives excellent lift with the bicarbonate of soda.

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