Happy Pancake Day! Whether you’re planning an epic pancake breakfast or a savoury pancake dinner, it’s time to start dusting off your pancake-making equipment and getting ready to flip. But for those who can barely crack an egg or who want to speed up the process, you could make things quicker and easier by using an air fryer to make this year’s pancake stack.
Yes, you read that right. It turns out you can cook a lot of things in an air fryer and UK retailer Currys is claiming that you can make the perfect pancakes in less than five minutes in an air fryer. I asked Rebecca Dixon, kitchen expert at Currys exactly how to do it… and here’s how.
How to make pancakes in an air fryer
This easy scotch pancake recipe from Currys will take you five minutes and the only equipment you need is an air fryer, greaseproof baking paper, a whisk and a bowl.
Step 1: Mix together 200 grams of self-raising flour, 2 tablespoons of caster sugar and 1 teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl.
Step 2: In a different bowl, mix your wet ingredients – 250 millilitres of milk, 1 egg and a tablespoon of melted unsalted butter.
Step 3: Combine the wet and dry ingredients together until you get a thick batter.
Step 4: Put greaseproof baking paper in the bottom of your air fryer and ladle on a spoonful of pancake batter.
Step 5: On top of the batter, layer another piece of baking paper followed by another ladle-full of batter. Keep going until you’re out of batter but you still have some room in your air fryer – you don’t want to overcrowd things!
Step 6: Bake in your air fryer at 160° for 5 minutes. If they’re still a little runny, let your pancakes cook for a couple minutes longer.
To make this recipe, Currys recommend using the Tefal EasyFry 3-in-1 Air Fryer, Grill & Steamer. Our air fryer expert tested out this air fryer in our Tefal EasyFry 3-in-1 Air Fryer review and found it to be convenient, easy to clean up and a good option if you’re trying to lose weight and cut down your energy usage.
Should you make pancakes in an air fryer?
Now the real question is this: should you make pancakes in an air fryer?
If you already have an air fryer, it could be an energy-saving way to make a stack of pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. Air fryers are less clean-up than the traditional pan method, especially if you don’t have a non-stick pan. As mentioned, the air fryer pancakes only take five minutes which is pretty quick if you’re in a rush.
The main negative to the air fryer pancakes is that pans are cheaper than air fryers, so it’s arguably easier and more cost-effective to just use a pan you already have at home rather than getting an air fryer. If you fancy a thinner pancake like a crepe, this recipe won’t make that for you and air fryer pancakes require no flipping, and isn’t getting a pancake stuck to your ceiling all part of the fun?!
