I make the simplest pancakes with three ingredients and my children love them

Breakfast times at weekends are a time to mix it up a bit and take your time to make something special instead of rushing some cereal into a bowl or bread into the toaster.

My weekend go-to breakfast is the humble pancake. Somehow, it feels like an indulgent treat but, of course, it's so simple to make and takes just three ingredients. I used to think pancakes required some sort of skill only known to the French but nothing could be further from the truth.

And now I make them every Saturday and Sunday for my two young children, who run downstairs to gobble them up every time. They just need basic ingredients so you probably won't even need to make a special trip to the shop in preparation.

They are delicious savoury or sweet so, once you've made them, you can fill them with a savoury filling like ham or cheese, or a sweet filling like Nutella, chopped banana or just lemon and sugar. Adding some fruit like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or blackberries goes great with it too.

This recipe and method makes pancakes resembling the French-style crepe, which are thinner and easier to fold or wrap than American-style pancakes.

How to make easy French-style pancakes

I tend to make my pancake mixture according to feel and how the mixture looks in the jug because you can always add more flour or milk if you need to thicken or thin it. But if you'd prefer measurements, these work well.

Ingredients 

• 100g plain flour
• 2 large eggs
• 300ml milk
• oil for frying

Method

1. Put the eggs, flour and milk into a large jug or mixing bowl and whisk to a smooth batter. I tend to whisk the eggs first to mix the yolk and white, then whisk in the flour, and then finish by adding the milk, but you can do all at the same time.
2. Once you have your mix to the desired consitency, heat a medium-sized frying pan over a medium heat and add some oil, enough to coat the surface of the pan (use some scrunched-up kitchen paper to coat the whole base if needed, but take care not to burn your hands).
3. Pour in enough of your mix to coat the base of your pan. You can either move the jug around as you pour or tilt the pan to get your mixture around the base.
4. Cooking for around one minute on each side should be plenty. Once you've done one side, it should be easy to lift the pancake with a spatula and flip it on to the other side.

Once they're made, fill them and decorate them however you please, sweet or savoury, using fruit to add a splash of colour (and nutrition) to sweeter pancakes. You can then serve up and move on to frying your next pancake. Enjoy!