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Pancakes with Caramelised Apples Recipe

A batter pancake served topped with caramelised apple slices.

From the NHS (UK) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,104 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓

Pancakes with Caramelised Apples Recipe

1 pancake per person
Time1 to 2 minutes per pancake

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Put the flour into a large jug or mixing bowl.

  2. Add the egg and milk and beat with a whisk or a handheld electric beater to make a smooth batter.

Cook the pancakes

  1. Heat a pancake pan or non-stick frying pan and add a few drops of vegetable oil.

  2. Pour in a quarter of the batter, tilting the pan so that it flows evenly over the surface.

  3. Cook over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until set, then flip over to cook the other side.

  4. Make 4 pancakes in total, adding a few drops of oil to the pan for each one.

  5. Keep the pancakes in a warm place until they're all ready.

Caramelise the apples and serve

  1. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan and add the apple slices, cooking them over a medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes, and turning often.

  2. Sprinkle the sugar over the apples and cook for another few moments until lightly browned.

  3. Add the lemon zest and juice, stir to coat, then remove from the heat.

  4. Serve 1 pancake per person, topped with the caramelised apples.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

957Calories
28 gProtein
28 gFat
149 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the NHS (UK).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Milk + appletop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,104 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).

  2. Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,551 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together78,219 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together92,116 recipes

    Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).

  5. Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,053 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Plain flour
Forms the structure of the batter once it is set by heat.
Egg
Binds the batter and helps the pancakes set firm while cooking.
Milk
Hydrates the flour and loosens the batter so it spreads thinly.
Eating apple
Softens while cooking and browns on the surface, adding sweetness and body.
Caster sugar
Caramelises on the hot apple slices, adding browning and sweetness.

The step that matters

Cooking the apples until lightly browned. Sugar browns through the Maillard reaction and caramelisation only on a hot, dry-enough surface. Crowding the pan or stirring too little can steam the apples instead, leaving them pale and soft rather than caramelised.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, milk, sugar, lemon):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Raisinfits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, milk, sugar, lemon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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