Blueberry Pancakes with Bacon & Maple Syrup

If you'd said to me 5 years ago that I'd be tucking into blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and bacon, I'd have gone "bleeeuuuughhh!", but nowadays I'm really getting into my sweet & savoury. I think it was candied bacon that changed me. In a fit of madness we used it as a spoon for this curry once. Edible spoons! Genius.

When I was in New York I didn't make it to a single breakfast, a shame (though not really - bed is important) because the Americans are known for great big massive breakfasts. These pancakes are popular with them. They differ in the sort that us Brits are more used to as they have a rising agent in them, whereas the ones we're more used to are flat as a... er, pancake.

These were light and fluffy, bursts of tartness and sweetness coming through from the oozing blueberries. They soaked up the maple syrup well, and the contrast with the smoky, salty bacon was a delight. For 5 girls with fuzzy heads, this sorted us out a treat.

Blueberry Pancakes with Bacon & Maple Syrup

Serves 5

400gr self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp sugar
A pinch of salt
600mls milk
150gr blueberries
10 rashers of smoked back bacon
Maple syrup to serve

Preheat your oven to around 70 degrees, to keep the waiting pancakes warm. The pancakes take patience but I found it quite therapeutic. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then make a well and add the eggs and mix well. Add the milk bit by bit, whisking as you go to make the batter. Mine was a bit lumpy and it didn't seem to matter. Leave the blueberries out at this stage - I add them after the batter has gone into the pan, as adding them and then mixing can make them pop, resulting in blueish grey pancakes.

Add a scant ladleful of batter to a well oiled pan on medium and then scatter a few blueberries onto the raw batter on top. Cook until the bubbles on the surface pop and then flip carefully, cooking the other side for another couple of minutes. Keep warm in the oven.

While you're making the pancakes, cook the bacon till well browned and also keep warm in the oven on kitchen paper-lined plates.

Serve with maple syrup.