Weekends are all about shifting down a gear and usually involve something a bit different from the everyday cereal and toast for breakfast. Our all time favourite has to be pancakes in some shape or form (and with my dodgy pancake making they can often be in very strange shapes!). Recently we have been favouring American style pancakes with bacon and maple syrup.

This is a super easy recipe, which you can mix up from a few store cupboard ingredients. You can even get away with the batter being a bit lumpy! I don’t often add sugar to the mix as we find it sweet enough with the maple syrup, but you could add a couple of tablespoonfuls if you prefer sweeter pancakes.

Ingredients (makes approx 10 depending on the size you make)

250g plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

250ml milk

2tbsp caster sugar (optional)

oil for cooking

What to do

1. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix in the sugar if you are using it.

2. Mix the milk and egg together in a jug.

3. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, mixing with a whisk until all the ingredients are well combined and the batter is smooth (or almost smooth!).

4. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan then add spoonfuls of the batter to the pan – I usually use a small ladleful per pancake but you can make them whatever size you like.

5. Turn the pancakes after 15-20 seconds and cook the other side. Fry until they are cooked through.

6. Repeat until you have used all the batter. I usually keep the pancakes warm in the oven while I cook the rest of them.

Serve with crispy bacon and maple syrup or any other yummy toppings that you like. Blueberries work well, as do sliced bananas.