It’s the day of the year when everyone goes utterly bananas for pancakes (especially if said bananas are slathered in Nutella). Shrove Tuesday is the best time to indulge in pancakes, whether you take them crepe style, dusted in sugar and lemon juice, or if you take inspiration from a little further afield…

Paul Sigler is the Sous Chef at The Weir Rooms at The River Lee and, as he hails from Tennessee, he has the insider knowledge to making perfect American pancakes.

“I love making American pancakes. Coming from Tennessee, it’s one thing that can take me “back home”. Unlike a crepe, it’s a real foodie delight to tuck into a great stack of fluffy pancakes. Although I do miss the multitude of flavoured maple syrups you can get in the U.S!

Here is a basic recipe that makes really good and consistent thick, fluffy pancakes…

• 270g plain flour
• 2 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• ½ tsp. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 400 ml milk or buttermilk
• 2 Tbsp. melted butter

Sift together the dry ingredients, then mix the eggs and the milk together in a separate bowl. Add the dry mixture to the wet, stirring all the time to form a smooth and consistent mixture. At the end, slowly mix in the butter. If the mix seems too dry, slowly add a little bit of milk to loosen it up slightly. It should be thick, but you should be able to pour from a ladle easily. With this recipe, it’s not important to rest the mixture, but of course you can make it the night before and it will work perfect the next day too.

When you’re ready to cook, fry the pancakes in a little butter, over a medium heat, until they’re cooked through. Then you’re ready to top them however you like! I am a bit of a sucker for tradition and I love my pancakes with farmhouse butter and pure maple syrup… yummy!

I think the secret to American style pancake is not to overwork the mixture. It’s important to incorporate air, but not to beat it too much. If you really want light pancakes, the secret is to separate the egg white from the yolk and to whisk the whites until they hold a shape. Then lightly fold the whites back into the batter. It incorporates a large amount of air into the mixture.

We usually serve up savoury and sweet pancakes on Shove Tuesday. This year, I’m doing an American stack with blueberry compote and a Nutella and mascarpone cheese.”

Let us know if you try this recipe by tagging The River Lee on Twitter or Facebook.