Strawberry and Chocolate Sauce Pancakes
The whole point of this one is that children can help. The batter is the simplest British pancake recipe — one bowl, one whisk, five minutes — and the toppings are entirely up to whoever is decorating. Fresh strawberries go on first, then the chocolate sauce, then the hundreds and thousands, scattered with as much enthusiasm as the room can bear. Serve immediately. These wait for no one.
Ingredients
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- 125g (4½oz)plain flour, sifted
- 300ml (10fl oz)whole milk
- 1large egg
- 25g (1oz)unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan
- a pinchfine salt
- 250g (9oz)fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
- 4 tbspchocolate sauce, shop-bought is perfectly fine here
- 2 tbsphundreds and thousands, or rainbow sprinkles
- to dusticing sugar, optional, but very much appreciated
Method
- 1
This is a recipe children can help with from the start. Give them the strawberry-hulling job first — it takes a few minutes and most children do it well with a small paring knife (supervised) or by pushing the hull out with a straw. Hull and halve all the strawberries and put them in a bowl on the table.
- 2
Sift the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, crack in the egg, add a pinch of salt, and pour in about a third of the milk. Whisk from the centre outwards, gradually drawing in the flour from the edges. Add the remaining milk in two stages until you have a smooth, thin batter. Stir in the melted butter.
Children from about 5 years old can do the whisking. It is satisfying and they do it well. - 3
Set up the topping station on the table while the batter rests for a minute or two: strawberries in a bowl, chocolate sauce in a small jug, hundreds and thousands in their pot, icing sugar and a sieve if using. Everything within reach of the people who will be decorating.
- 4
Heat a non-stick frying pan (20–22cm) over medium-high heat. Add a small knob of butter. Pour in enough batter to coat the base thinly, tilting immediately. Cook for 1 minute until the edges lift, flip, and cook for a further 30 seconds. Slide onto a warm plate and carry to the table.
Keep the pan going and the table decorating happening simultaneously — it is chaotic and exactly right. - 5
Let the children decorate their own pancakes: pile on strawberries, drizzle over chocolate sauce, and scatter hundreds and thousands with enthusiasm. A dusting of icing sugar at the end is optional and will go everywhere. This is entirely correct. Serve immediately — and make the next pancake.
Pro Tips
- →Let the children do the hundreds and thousands themselves. It will go everywhere. That is exactly the point of this recipe.
- →Hull and halve the strawberries before you start cooking. Pancakes wait for no one, and having everything ready on the table means the toppings go on while the pancake is still warm.
- →Shop-bought chocolate sauce is genuinely fine here. The pancake is the vehicle; the chocolate sauce is not trying to be a fine ingredient.
- →Make the pancakes slightly smaller than usual if cooking for young children — about 15–16cm rather than 20cm. They are easier to handle and eat.
- →Warm plates matter more than people think. A cold plate cools a thin pancake within 30 seconds.
Topping Ideas
Terms in this recipe
Defined in the Pancake Day glossary.
Questions & answers
At what age can children help make pancake batter?⌄
Can I make mini pancakes for younger children?⌄
Which chocolate sauce should I buy?⌄
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