Flipping 'Eck! Beer Pancakes?!

People,
I don't want to panic you but Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) approaches and I for one don't want lemon & sugar on mine!

I recently did some recipe development for Lyle's Golden Syrup and came up with a fun beer pancake recipe, hope you enjoy!

Beer Pancakes with Cheese & Sweet Bacon

Pancakes (makes 4 in a 10”/25cm pan):

300ml standard bitter (e.g. London Pride or Black Sheep)

2 medium eggs

125g plain flour

25g melted butter

Filling (per pancake):

Handful of extra mature Cheddar, or other salty cheese

One rasher of good quality thick-cut smoked bacon

1tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup, warmed

Wholegrain mustard

Salad leaves for garnish

Method for Pancakes:

1. Pour ale and eggs into a jug - beat well
2. Place flour into a bowl and make hollow in centre
3. Gradually pour the egg and beer mixture into the centre of the flour, whisking just in the centre as you pour
4. As you pour more steadily, keep whisking so you pull in all of the flour from the outside of the bowl – this means you shouldn’t get any lumps
5. Once all the flour is incorporated, whisk melted butter into the batter, cover with cling film and place in the fridge
6. Use a non-stick frying pan for best results 
7. Heat frying pan on a medium heat until there’s a slight haze coming from it
8. Add a sliver of butter and let it melt, moving the pan around so it covers the base of the pan
9. Tip any excess butter from pan into a small bowl for the next pancake
10. Whisk the batter once more before using it
11. Ladle some batter into the pan – twisting the pan as you go so that it covers the bottom of the pan  – and put in enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan to about the thickness of a pound coin, these will need to be a tiny bit thicker than your average pancake 
12. Place the pan back onto the heat and leave to cook for 1-2 minutes
13. To check if pancake is ready to be turned, loosen the edges with a spatula then give it a little shake – it should come loose and move in the pan
14. The pancake should be opaque on top and a light golden brown colour underneath
15. If you’re feeling brave, grab the handle with both hands and move away from the hob slightly. Drop the pan down and quickly flip it back up again, using your wrists to flip the pan – the pancake should rise out of the pan and turn over
16. If you’re not feeling brave, use a fish slice to flip the pancake over, making sure the slice goes all the way under the pancake before you turn it 
17. Place back on heat, cook for another minute and slide onto warm plate 
18. Keep in a warm place, repeat until you have desired amount

Method for Filling:

1.       Brush one side of your bacon rashers with warmed Lyle’s Golden Syrup (tip: lightly grease your brush or knife with groundnut oil to stop it sticking to utensil), cook under grill, brushing other side upon turning (you can substitute with sweet-cure bacon if you have it)

2.       When bacon is cooked on both sides and nicely caramelised cut into chunks and place on a pancake that’s been smeared with mustard, cover with the cheese, place back under grill until cheese melted but not runny

3.       Roll pancake and cut in half

4.       Garnish with salad and serve