Egg course part 3: Separation eggsiety - American pancakes

The advanced level when it comes to eggs: separating the yolks and whites. Advanced but certainly not impossible: the 3 year old Little Chefs did wonderfully and we only needed a few back up eggs. And of course, practice makes perfect!

How the Little Chefs did it:

- as before, they cracked the eggs on the edge of table, and not the bowl, as the latter isn't stable 

- each white and yolk went to separate cups before pouring them into the bowls, in case one wasn't fresh

- a bit of white in the yolk is not a problem, the aim is to deliver the yolk intact

And when we have separated all the eggs, we performed the kitchen magic of turning the runny, transparent egg whites into stiff, white foam - and all in the good cause of preparing American pancakes. Now this recipe is from Jamie Oliver, so not very American; and the American and Canadian Little Chefs (and their mums) didn't quite recognise it as their traditional method, however, the result is delicious and it's quick and easy. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

3 eggs

120 g plain flour

150 ml milk

1 teaspoon of baking powder

butter

200 g blueberries

Method:

- separate the eggs into two large bowls

- mix the yolks with the flour, baking powder and milk

- whip the whites with an electric whisk till it forms stiff peaks

- gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture

- heat a pan on medium heat and melt a teaspoon of butter

- drop two or three ladlefuls of batter into the pan, so that they don't touch (whether two or three, will depend on the size of your pan)

- sprinkle some blueberries on each pancake, and smear their tops with a bit of extra batter, so the berries don't burn when you flip the pancakes over

- give them a few minutes, then turn each pancake over, cook them for 2 more minutes

And a few tips:

- replace blueberries with sliced bananas, sweet corn, or anything you fancy, just don't forget about the bit of extra batter on top

- cooking time will depend on the size of your pancakes and the filling, so make sure you check whether it's cooked through

- when you fold in the whites, you don't have to be terribly thorough, the more air that remains in the mixture, the lighter your pancakes will be

- for a sugary but delicious version, drench in maple syrup

*The bold text in the recipe shows the steps that the Little Chefs did (with supervision).*