Poppy Seed Buttermilk Pancakes.

Heelllooooo there heeeen. Did you know that I’m a bit of a breakfast fiend? I’ve probably already told you, I do that a lot. Any excuse to take a leisurely, treat laden ‘weekend’ breakfast (you need the apostrophes here because, as sad as it is, not everyone’s weekends are Saturday and Sunday specific) and I grab it with both hands, well one hand, while the other clutches at numerous recipe books.

The thing is though, my breakfast mojo has been lying dormant recently. Apart from the Banana Muffins I told you about last week, which really were more of an exercise in using up black bananas than satisfying any greed, I haven’t really worn my treat breakfast cooking hat for a while. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true, I have knocked up these Pan Waffles a few times, because they’re just so delightfully suited to chilly Scottish winter mornings. But for me, part of the treat of a treat breakfast comes from the planning of something new, the scrolling through blogs, leafing through books until a new idea forms in my little book of recipes. A good bit of the treat is going to bed with a new notion in my head; knowing that there’s only a sleep between me and previously undiscovered joy.

This is where I was meant to go on to tell you that HurraH, my breakfast mojo is awake again and here I am being all smug having made my own Danish pastries. But instead it goes more like...at 10.30pm last night, when the kitchen was still messy from dinner, I couldn’t reeeeeally be bothered to peel myself from the sofa and remain vertical for long enough to implement the plan of getting things ready for overnight chilling and hence effortless danish pastries being produced in the morning.

But it’s ok, because I COULD be bothered to switch on the ol’ computer and have a trawl through my favourite places in search of an alternative....et viola. Fabulous little pancakes; a doddle to put together, the perfect use of the buttermilk which I bought purely because I found it, in Scotland (woop) and a teeny hint of a taste, provided by the poppy seeds, the joy of which, you can’t really put your finger on but it’s definitely there. So maybe I’ll get back to you with smugness another time, but for now, I’ll take these, with absolutely no feeling of guilt over my laziness. With Love and Cake.

Poppy seed and Buttermilk Pancakes

Inspired by 101 Cookbooks.

A few notes:

• If you live in Scotland too, or an equivalent where buttermilk and such exotic products, like ooo fruit, is scare you can substitute yogurt, or you could make your own by squeezing half a lemon or so into normal milk and setting aside for 15 minutes to sort of curdle.
• These aren't the bounciest or springiest of pancakes, more crisp on the outside and dense in the middle. If you would prefer that perhaps just stir some popper seeds through the batter of these basic breakfast pancakes.
• I didn’t use a blender for these like I usually do for making pancakes because I didn't want to mash up the seeds. Do feel free to though.
• Although I don’t usually go in for using cup measures American styleee, I think for a morning time batter, just grabbing a nearby mug and using that to gauge proportions is much less effort-ful than getting out the scales. So when I say cup, I mean an average sized mug.

Makes around 10 medium sized pancakes

You will need

A frying pan (I use 2 to speed the process up)

1 cup plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

A pinch bicarbonate of soda

A 250g tub buttermilk

½ cup milk

1 egg

1 tbsp melted butter, plus extra for greasing

1 tbsp poppy seeds

• So it’s easypeasy really, just get your pan on a medium-to-high heat.
• Now mix together the dry ingredients in a big bowl.
• Then whisk in the wet ingredients so you have a smooth batter, a bit thicker than double cream.
• Plop a blob of butter in your hot pan and swirl it all around so it gets nice and melty.
• Now pop spoonfuls of batter in your pan and let them cook away. It’s really up to you how big you make them, I like them big enough to feel generous without them being a nightmare to flip; I think a tablespoon or two of batter at a time does the job.
• When you can see that the batter is cooking around the outside of the disc and bubbles are finding their way up to the surface, it’s time to flip.
• When they’re dappled golden brown on both sides pop them on a plate for immediate consumption or store in a warm oven while you get on with cooking the rest of the batter.
• Either way, when it’s time for eating I suggest a good dollop of marmalade, but as always, pancake consumption is open to interpretation....