It’s almost Pancake Day (21st February), and if you haven’t switched your oven on since you picked up your choice of the best air fryers, you might be wondering if you can use it on one of the sweetest days of the year too.
We’ve got hold of a recipe from Currys (opens in new tab) that you can try out in your air fryer, to see if this ultra-useful kitchen appliance can actually do it all – even on Shrove Tuesday.
Full disclosure, it’s a fluffy American-style pancake that we’re aiming to make with this recipe, so if you’re after a classic crepe style, then you might want to stick with your pan and start practising that all-important flip instead.
If you are still keen to try it out, you’ll need 1 tbsp melted unsalted butter (14g) to grease, 200g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 egg, 250ml milk, 2 tbsp caster sugar and an oven-safe circular tin that will fit in your air fryer.
(Image credit: Future Studios/Phillip Sowels)
Can you make pancakes in an air fryer?
I actually have one of the best dual zone air fryers so finding a circular heat-proof dish of the right size was a little bit of a challenge, but I managed to source one in the end. If you have a single drawer model then you’re in luck, as you can just use a cake tin of the right size for ease.
I mixed up the batter and set my air fryer on to preheat – I use the Instant Vortex Dual Zone (it rivals some of the best Ninja appliances in my opinion) and the machine beeps to let you know when to add food, so I let it warm up appropriately.
As is traditional with pancakes, my first attempt was a bit of a fail, as I don’t think it was quite hot enough. I scrapped my first try and went again, using less butter on the second time around, and found a fairly good result after five minutes thanks to the efficiency of my air fryer. The pancake was easy to shimmy out, and I didn’t need to risk any flips with my pan.
(Image credit: Future)
I wanted a neat stack of pancakes, so I set to work in five-minute air frying sittings. I’ll admit, the end result is not the most aesthetically pleasing thing I’ve ever made in the kitchen, but it tasted delicious with some berries and maple syrup.
(Image credit: Future)
Will I be doing it again on Pancake Day itself? I have to say I won’t, as it was pretty time-consuming and you lose the fun of trying to master a pancake flip, which is what it’s all about for me.
I’d still recommend it for anyone who fancies trying something new or wants to get the whole family involved in pancake making, as it’s a bit less hazardous than flipping.
I use my air fryer absolutely every day – but I’ll be sticking with the traditional method this time around.
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