Update: Well, now the Guardian has jumped on the bandwagon and their recipe for perfect pancakes isn’t too far removed from my own. But they still add the unnecessary water and dawdle with the sifting and ‘drawing’ in of the flour. Nice, though, to see some sensible remarks in the comments section for a change, where some readers clearly agree with me…

Okay, today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day if you prefer, and I thought I’d share my method for making pancakes, thus dispelling some of the myths; it really is a very simple and quick dish to make.

I have a very simple formula for the amounts that I’ve followed for the last 20 years, in fact ever since my Mum gave it to me when I was a student. It goes like this: 4oz flour, 1 egg, half pint of milk and a pinch of salt. I also now add a liberal dose of ground black pepper. Pepper is a surprisingly versatile ingredient and works well with sweet dishes – do not relegate it to the savoury department only.

So that trusty formula makes 5 pancakes usually; by doubling the quantity I always get exactly 11 pancakes, which just goes to show how consistent the formula is. Don’t use water as it reduces the richness of the pancake, milk is just fine, and don’t worry about the mixing process – just bung all the ingredients in a large bowl and whisk vigorously (the use of an actual metal hand whisk is recommended here as it cuts through all the lumps and bumps and makes for a nice smooth-ish frothy mixture). No need to leave it standing or anything like that either, you can easily knock this mix up in a few minutes – pancakes are a fast food.

Slightly pre-grease a non-stick frying pan on the highest heat, add a small knob of butter, swish the butter around the pan a little until it’s melted (do this before each pancake and use lard if you’re old school). Then ladle in some of the pancake mix (I use a soup ladle – it holds exactly the right amount to create a thin, plate sized pancake). Make sure the mix covers the pan. One minute or two either side is all it needs – the test is that the pancake should become loose of its own accord, or with a little nudge with a spatula, once it is cooked. Keep the cooking on a high heat, no need to fiddle around with temperatures – this isn’t rocket science.

While cooking I place the plate or plates in the oven at a low temperature, just to keep them and the cooked pancakes warm. No need to layer the pancakes with greaseproof paper – they won’t go too soggy and horrible in that short amount of time.

One tip is to pre squeeze your lemon and have the sugar ready as it’s imperative to gobble down all the pancakes while still piping hot. We once took a taxi on the Côte d’Azur and the driver of that taxi had been responsible for first importing the bottled ready squeezed lemon juice to France. Lovely chap, but squeeze your own fresh lemon for goodness sake, we’re all far too lazy these days. That’s another reason for warming the plates, to keep those pancakes nice and warm for the lemon and sugar syrup topping. I won’t hear of any other topping, sweet or savoury, in my mind that’s just wrong. If you want banana or nutella or cheese and something then that’s your business…

Oh yes, and I never have a ‘dodgy’ first pancake anymore either. Delicious.

NB The photos have now been updated to show the ones I made this very evening.