Gordon Ramsay’s pancakes from Bread Street Kitchen are thick, fluffy American-style stacks made with buttermilk, vanilla and a tablespoon of caster sugar, ready in about 20 minutes. The recipe makes 12 small pancakes, enough for 4 to 6 people, and uses ingredients you probably already have in the cupboard. He calls them “a great way to feed hungry children and adults.”
What makes them different from the standard buttermilk pancake is the eggs. He separates them, whisks the whites to soft peaks in a grease-free bowl, then folds them into the batter. He says these are “moreish and filling without being too sweet,” and suggests either fresh fruit with maple syrup or crispy smoked bacon “for that classic salty sweet combination.”
The separated eggs are not a one-off. Every Ramsay pancake recipe across Bread Street Kitchen, his earlier cookbook and Ultimate Cookery Course uses the same method: yolks in the batter, whites whisked separately, folded in at the end. Most online recipes skip this because it adds one extra bowl, but that bowl is the difference between a flat disc and a pancake that actually rises.
Gordon Ramsay Pancake Recipe (Fluffy Buttermilk Pancakes)
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings10
minutes10
minutes195
kcal20
minutesThe BSK breakfast recipe Ramsay makes “for the kids to send them off to school happy.” Buttermilk, oil and vanilla in the batter, oil and butter together in the pan. One heaped tablespoon per pancake gives you the right size for stacking.
Ingredients
160g (5½ oz / 1¼ cups) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of sea salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 large eggs, separated
300ml (10 fl oz / 1¼ cups) buttermilk
4 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g (2 oz) butter, for frying
150g (5 oz) blueberries, to serve
Maple syrup, to serve
Directions
- Mix the batter: Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, add the sugar and mix. Make a well in the middle and add the egg yolks. Gradually pour in the buttermilk and whisk slowly, bringing the flour in from the edges until combined. Whisk in the oil and vanilla extract.
- Whisk the whites: In a separate grease-free bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Fold them evenly into the batter with a large metal spoon, keeping as much air in as possible.
- Cook: Heat a wide non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a dash of oil and a knob or two of butter. Once the butter has melted, cook in batches of four, using 1 heaped tablespoon of batter per pancake. Shape into round discs. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown on each side.
- Serve: Divide among plates, sprinkle generously with blueberries and drizzle with maple syrup. For a savoury option, serve with crispy smoked bacon instead.
FAQs
Why does Ramsay whisk the egg whites separately?
The whites trap air in tiny bubbles that expand when they hit the hot pan. Whole eggs cannot hold the same amount of air because the fat in the yolks weighs the protein structure down. Folding the whisked whites in at the end keeps those bubbles intact, which is what gives the pancakes their height.
He specifies a “grease-free bowl” for the whites because even a trace of fat stops them forming peaks. If your whites will not whisk, wipe the bowl with lemon juice on kitchen paper first.
Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk?
You can, but the pancakes will be flatter and less tangy. Buttermilk reacts with the baking powder to create extra carbon dioxide, which adds lift on top of what the egg whites provide. If you cannot find buttermilk, stir 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 300ml of whole milk and leave for 10 minutes.
His baby buttermilk pancakes in an earlier cookbook use a 2:1 ratio of buttermilk to regular milk, which gives a lighter result if you find pure buttermilk too sour.
What does Ramsay serve pancakes with?
BSK gives two routes: fresh seasonal fruit (blueberries “are especially good”) with maple syrup, or crispy smoked bacon with maple syrup for the salty sweet pairing. On The F Word he takes it further with caramelised bananas sliced lengthwise, flambéed with rum, and topped with vanilla ice cream.
For a full weekend breakfast, stack these alongside his scrambled eggs with crème fraîche and his hash browns. The pancakes cover sweet, the eggs cover savoury, and the hash browns add crunch.
What is the difference between these and Scotch pancakes?
On The F Word, Ramsay makes what he calls Scotch pancakes using a completely different method. He cracks 3 whole eggs in without separating, adds 75ml water alongside the buttermilk, and skips the oil and vanilla entirely. He says “it is chemistry, so follow the recipe exactly.”
The result is thinner and slightly denser than the BSK version, closer to a traditional British drop scone. He serves those with caramelised bananas and rum, not stacked with maple syrup. For Pancake Day stacks, the BSK version here is the one to use.
Does Ramsay make other types of pancakes?
At least five across his cookbooks. His blueberry and ricotta pancakes from Ultimate Cookery Course fold ricotta cheese and blueberries directly into the batter and serve with Greek yoghurt and honey instead of maple syrup. The same book has coconut pancakes with mango and lime syrup, and spicy potato pancakes for a savoury option.
For another BSK breakfast that feeds a crowd, his scones use the same baking powder lift technique and sit well on the same table. For traditional Pancake Day, he also makes thin, crispy British crepes in a YouTube video: just flour, eggs, sugar and milk, tossed in the pan and served with lemon curd, fresh cream and powdered sugar.
