Blueberry Pancakes with Wickwar’s Station Porter

A few weeks ago I grabbed a punnet of Blueberries-  the last of the season, I’d suspect – and the Americophile in me immediately thought of Blueberry Pancakes. Easy to make and super-filling, they are delicious and are great to enjoy with a Stout or Porter. There’s loads of recipes out there, but here’s mine.  The recipe is actually a ‘Scotch Pancake’ one that I’ve always used, so I doubt it’s authentically American – but it’s delicious nonetheless.

You will need to make a thick batter with 175g of Self-Raising Flour, 45g of Caster Sugar, and a Teaspoon of Baking Powder. Sift into a bowl, then make a well in the middle and add one egg – the largest one you can get. Beat in about 100ml of Whole Milk, then beat in another 100ml until it reaches a creamy, yet thick, consistency. Finally, add a ‘crapload’ (offical terminology) of Blueberries. However many you want, you drop in.

Heat a small pan and warm a knob of Butter. When foaming, drop a large ladle of the mixture in, and let it settle out. Remember, you want it thick . I find cooking it on a high heat to ‘seal it’, then turning it down slightly to cook one side through before flipping it works best. Flip (with spatulas!!) and cook the other side. It’ll take about a minute and half/two minutes each side.

Demolish warm, with a dusting of Caster Sugar, or a dollop of Vanilla Ice-Cream. I enjoyed my last one with a pint of Wickwar’s excellent Station Porter (6%abv). A multiple award-winner, it’s a Porter I’ve enjoyed a lot of over the years in both bottle and the odd occasion on cask. There’s a lot more going on in it than you’d expect – and by that I mean it’s full of flavour. Sweet at first, it pops up with plenty of blackberry and plum, before drying right out on a wave of milky coffee and vanilla. There’s the slightest hint of oak at the end adding a little more complexity, but the sweetness of the Pancake rounds everything out nicely.

Summer flavours meets Autumnal beer? Yes, I think so. It’s that time of year. As I mentioned, Blueberries are gone now, so feel free to substitute for Blackberries, which are bursting into life on bramble bushes everywhere right now.