Thin pancakes with beurre noisette

A basic recipe for thin pancakes. The brown butter takes 10 minutes to make and turns ordinary pancakes into something close to French crêpes au beurre noisette.

Ingredients

• milk — 250 ml
• kefir — 250 ml
• egg — 1
• bicarbonate of soda — 1/2 tsp
• salt — a pinch
• sugar — 30 g
• flour — 180 g
• beurre noisette from step 5 (or plain butter, or oil) — 30 g

For the beurre noisette

• butter — 100 g

Method

1. Put the milk on to warm, without letting it boil.
2. In a large bowl, combine the egg with the sugar and salt.
3. Add the kefir and whisk. Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
4. Stir the bicarbonate of soda into the milk — it will foam slightly. Pour it into the batter, stirring. Leave for 30 minutes; the batter will thicken a little.
5. Meanwhile make the butter: put a piece in a saucepan and melt it over a low heat. After 5–7 minutes dark sediment will settle and the butter will turn caramel-coloured. Take it off the heat at once and strain it.
6. Stir about 3 tbsp of the butter into the batter. The rest is for brushing.
7. Cook the pancakes in your usual pan over a medium heat, until golden on both sides.
8. Brush each pancake with beurre noisette as soon as it comes off the pan.

Tips

• The batter can be made with milk alone or half milk, half kefir: kefir gives fluffier pancakes, milk alone thinner ones.