The Perfect Pancake

Stovetop pancakes live or die by two things: the fat you mix in and the heat of your pan. This batter uses melted vegetable shortening instead of butter, which is the old-school diner trick for cakes that stay tender hours later and never turn rubbery as they sit on the plate.

Sift the dry ingredients before adjoining the wet so the baking powder distributes evenly. That keeps every pancake rising at the same rate. Watch the surface as it cooks: bubbles forming and edges drying out are your green light to flip, usually around two to three minutes.

Thinner batter means thinner, more crepe-like cakes; thicker batter gives you the tall, fluffy stack. Adjust the milk by a tablespoon at a time until you hit the texture you want.

Pro Tips

• Heat the pan first, then grease lightly. A too-cold pan gives you pale, gummy pancakes; too-hot scorches the outside before the middle sets.
• The first pancake is always a tester. Use it to dial in your heat and batter thickness without ruining the whole batch.
• Keep finished pancakes warm on a wire rack in a 200°F (95°C) oven instead of stacking them on a plate, where they steam and turn soggy.
• Don’t overmix. A few lumps in the batter are fine and actually help the cakes stay tender.

Variations

• Fold in fresh blueberries or sliced bananas just before cooking.
• Swap half the flour for whole wheat for a nuttier, heartier cake.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of cinnamon to the wet ingredients for warmer flavor.