A lot of my recipes are scribbles on tiny pieces of paper. Usually a list of ingredients and not much else. Then there are a handful of recipes buried in the depths of my brain, somewhere. This filing system includes nothing more than ingredients coming together until they ‘feel’ right. This happens to be one of those recipes.

In some ways, I suppose it isn’t a recipe, it is just a list of  ingredients. Not that dissimilar to my scraps of paper. This one starts out with a few eggs, cracked open in a bowl. Add in some flour to make a paste. Again, until it ‘feels’ right. Then slowly mix in the milk and whisk away. Drop a ladle in and see if it pours right and coats the back of a spoon. Not accurate at all. And yet, this is the way I have always made pancakes.

At first, I would make my batter and then test out a few on the stove until they came out right. Sometimes adding a bit more of one ingredient or another. Having made them so regularly now, I just seem to have an idea how they should feel. To be fair, I also think there is a range of flexibility in this. Making it hard to go wrong.

For those of you wanting a bit more than just a vague guess at how to make these, I have painstakingly measured and weighed this all out for you. Bear in mind, that there is a degree of personalisation with these and you don’t have to be completely accurate. With Pancake Tuesday just around the corner, you will be sure to get enough practice to understand what I mean when I say there is a certain feel about the batter. This is the recipe I use for both my shrimp crepes with watercress and the apple pie filling, and I make these regularly for weekend breakfast with a splash of maple syrup.

Makes 10-12 Crepes, depending on the size of your pan

• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup (100g) Plain Flour (although, in a pinch I have resorted to self rising with no significant effects!)
• 1 1 /2 cups Milk / or milk alternative

Crack open your eggs into a bowl and give them a whisk to break the yolks and blend them together. Whisk in the flour to make a thick paste, making sure to break up any lumps. Then slowly whisk in the milk to make a smooth batter. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Warm your frying pan over medium heat and add a little oil. Once this is warm, add a small ladle of the batter, swirling the pan around to spread the batter across the bottom of the pan. It should be thin and even. Allow to cook over medium heat until the edges are golden and the bottom is nicely browned. I find you can tell when it is nicely cooked, as your spatula will easily fit under the crepe without sticking. Turn it over and cook on the second side. This will take much less time. Move the finished crepe to a plate and repeat by adding a little more oil before each ladle of batter.

This can be made a few days ahead of time and kept wrapped up in the fridge. You can reheat them by covering with foil and warming in oven. Alternatively, you can also freezer these for later use. I just fold each of them in half and half again, so you have a nice triangle shape, which will take up much less space in your freezer and help keep them from cracking. Defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat when you need them.