Fluffy pancakes with apples

• Kefir (I bought it at Tesco’s) – 250 ml (a bottle)
• Egg – 1
• Flour – 180 to 200 g
• Sugar – 2 tbsp
• Vanilla sugar – 1/2 to 1 tsp (just for aroma)
• Apple – 1 (medium)
• Baking soda – 1/3 to 1/2 tsp
• Salt – a sprinkle
• Vegetable oil – for frying

Sift the flour into a bowl (optional).

Add an egg into the main bowl…

… and salt and sugar.

Add kefir. If you buy Tesco’s one of the Biotiful make, the bottle already contains the quantity you need – 250 ml. IMPORTANT: your kefir should be warm (or at least of room temperature) – NOT straight from the fridge.

Start adding the flour – gradually, mixing it in, to regulate thickness of your batter.

You may add vanilla sugar (optional). I added half a teaspoon just for aroma.

Chop 1 medium-sized apple into small pieces (you can do it in advance)…

… and add it to your batter.

Add the baking soda. Be careful not to add too much of it, so it wouldn’t taste in your pancakes. 1/2 a teaspoon is the absolute maximum. I used 1/3 of a teaspoon.

… and mix it in very well, so it would dissolve evenly in the batter. Regulate thickness of your batter – it should not turn out too thick and firm.

Cover the batter with a towel and leave it for 15-20 minutes. Do not stir it again.

Heat the frying pan up at the medium heat with quite a generous amount of vegetable oil, and place the batter onto it in spoonfulls, forming pancakes. Mine turned out quite big – you can make yours smaller.

Cover your frying pan with a lid (which steams up immediately 🙂 ) and fry until your pancakes turn firm and golden from one side…

… and they grow and get fluffier as they are being fried.

Once your pancakes turn firm and golden from one side, flip them over…

… and once they are ready, take them off the heat and place on a plate with some paper kitchen towels (to absorb extra oil).

They are fluffy… and extremely DELICIOUS! Now – how can I stop eating them???

And you can make smaller and neater, or fun-shaped, pancakes using a silicone mould like this! However, there’s a skill to it.

While using the mould, always use it the concave side up.

Put the mould onto a frying pan and fill the shapes in with the batter. However, do not put too much into one shape (like this one in the middle – I put a bit too much of batter there).

Only when the bottom side turned golden and isn’t raw anymore, you can flip your mould up using the side handles  – the pancakes will stay in. (If the bottom is still raw, they will fall out of the mould).

And when the other side is firm and golden too, you can lift the mould up, and the pancakes will come out of it. (If you put a little bit too much of dough in one shape, there will be extra of it on the sides – like that one in the middle. You can cut it off later).

And… voila! 🙂