There are many pancake recipes out there and in my house, my husband is the pancake chef who has his own secret recipe. So he wasn’t best pleased when I said there was a new method we should try out.

Thatchers sent a recipe for me to try, which adds an unusual ingredient to the mix - cider. They add equal amounts of milk and Cloudy Lemon Cider to the mix with some timings I have not seen before. Once the batter is mixed, they say to wait 30 minutes before cooking. This is not something I have heard of before, but it is something that I believe contributed to a very smooth and luxurious pancake that had a nice tart lemon back note from the cider.

The light pancake had a richness to it that seemed thicker than a crepe and smoother than an American-style pancake.

You can also make a blood orange syrup with the Blood Orange Cider, which has a sweet and tangy taste on the tongue and a nice twist on the classic lemon flavourings you associate with pancakes.

While the wait time can slow down the process, this batter was easy to work with and produced even, silky pancakes, so it is well worth it.

Pancake recipe

Ingredients:

• 175g plain flour
• Three large eggs
• 200ml milk
• 200ml Thatchers Cloudy Lemon Cider
• A pinch of salt
• Oil or melted butter

For syrup

• 50ml Thatchers Blood Orange Cider
• Four tbsp caster sugar
• One orange

Method

Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the middle.

In a separate bowl or large jug, mix together the eggs, milk and Cloudy Lemon Cider.

Pour the wet mixture into the centre of the flour well and start mixing using a hand mixer or a whisk. Keep mixing until the batter is smooth and lump-free. It should have the consistency of single cream.

Set aside for 30 minutes. While you wait, you can make your Thatchers Blood Orange pancake syrup.

In a small pan, add 50ml of Thatchers Blood Orange Cider and the caster sugar. Bring to the boil, then turn it down to simmer for three minutes. Set aside until your pancakes are ready.

Heat up the frying pan until nice and hot. Add in oil or butter. Pour a small amount of batter onto the hot pan and swirl around until the pan is fully coated.

Fry on one side for approximately one minute until lightly browned. Flip it over with a spatula and fry for another minute.

Transfer the pancake to a plate and cover it with a clean tea towel while you fry the other pancakes.

Serve by drizzling over the blood orange syrup you made earlier.