American-Style Pancakes with Crispy Bacon & Spiced Maple Glaze

Serves 2

Takes 45 minutes

In an ode to Pancake Day, we have revived a classic combination but of course, with a little Ginger Pig twist. The gentle warmth from the chilli and cinnamon in the glaze adds a different dimension to this breakfast dish, whilst light fluffy pancakes make for the perfect textural match to the crunch of rendered bacon. Salty, sweet and all things nice for Pancake Day this year.

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, sugar and melted butter then once combined, pour into the bigger bowl along with the flour.
2. Mix well to form a thick batter, if it is a little lumpy keep whisking until smooth then set aside.
3. In a saucepan, pour in the maple syrup and set on a high heat. Add in the chilli powder and cinnamon, stirring to dissolve. Bring the syrup up to the boil then turn the heat down to med-low, allow the mixture to reduce by half (approx. 10 minutes), stir occasionally to ensure the bottom isn’t catching. Once reduced, turn the heat down to the lowest to keep warm, stirring occasionally.
4. Place a frying pan on a medium heat with a small drizzle of oil, add in the bacon rashers and fry for 6 mins then flip and continue to cook. Keep flipping every 2 minutes until the fat has rendered and the rasher have become golden and crispy. Remove and place on some kitchen paper to drain any excess fat.
5. Pour out ¾ of the fat from the pan, keeping the final part and place back on a low heat.
6. Begin ladling a small amount of the pancake batter into the pan (you may have to do this one at a time depending on the size of your pan).
7. After a couple of minutes, you should start to see bubbles forming in the pancake, at this stage, use a spatula to check to see if the first side is golden, if so carefully flip over and cook for a further 1 minute.
8. Place on a warm plate with a piece of kitchen towel on top then go with the next batch, continue until all the batter is used up.
9. Layer your pancakes on a plate and top with a couple of bacon rashers then pour over the spiced glaze, dig in and enjoy!

• 4 rashers streaky bacon
• Olive oil
• 135g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 130ml milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp melted butter

For the Spiced Maple Glaze:

• 250g maple syrup
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder