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SWASH-BUCKLING STUFF

Flavoursome food that’s quick and cheap to prepare is the key to happy mealtimes for actor Joe Swash, his wife Stacey Solomon and their five – soon to be six – children. Here, the doting dad picks winners from his debut cookbook

AMERICAN PANCAKES

Makes 16 Takes 25-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 50g/2oz butter

• 1 carton of buttermilk (usually 284ml)

• Around 6 tbsp milk

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• 1 egg

• 225g/8oz plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 25g/1oz caster sugar

• Apinch of salt To serve

• Maple syrup or honey

• 400g/14oz berries, such as blueberries, raspberries or chopped strawberries

• Thick yoghurt, whipped cream or crème fraîche

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Pour the buttermilk into a jug and add enough milk to make it up to 375ml/13fl oz. Add all but 1 tbsp of the melted butter, plus the vanilla extract and egg, then beat to combine.

2. Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir to make a smooth batter.

3. Heat a non-stick or cast-iron pan over a medium-high heat then rub the base with some of the 1 tbsp reserved butter. Ladle over rounds of the pancake batter – around 2 tbsp for each.

4. Cook until each pancake looks set on top; it should look slightly shiny, and bubbles will start to appear. Check carefully to see if the underside is a rich brown then flip and cook the pancake until the other side is also golden brown. Keep these pancakes warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel or in foil as you use up the remaining batter – you should be able to make around 4 at a time.