Recipe of the week: American buckwheat pancakes
These thick pancakes soak up the syrup and juice from the berries nicely

Served in piles known as “shortstacks”, American pancakes are quite a bit thicker than the crêpes you find in Europe, which means that they soak up the syrup and juice from the berries, say Danny Jack and Hailee Kukura. If you prefer your pancakes thinner, just add a little bit more milk to your batter.
Ingredients: serves 2-3 (about 6 large pancakes)
For the batter
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
- 150g buckwheat or plain wholemeal flour
- 2 tsp golden or white caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 small pear or apple, cored and grated (optional)
- 250ml milk, room temperature
- 2 eggs, separated
- 1 tbsp butter, for frying
To serve
- 1 tbsp date syrup, honey, maple syrup or sweetener of your choice
- 2-3 tbsp Greek-style yogurt
- 150g blueberries or raspberries
Method
- For the batter, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, grated pear or apple (if using), milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl with a whisk until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then fold into the flour mix. Cover and rest this batter for at least 10 minutes.
- Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and grease generously with some of the butter.
- Ladle some of the batter mixture into the centre of the pan and leave to cook, then flip when the pancake begins to bubble in the middle, about 2 minutes. Cook on the second side for 1-2 minutes, until the pancake is light brown on both sides and a little crispy on the edges. Remove to a plate and keep warm.
- Repeat the process, re-greasing the pan with butter as needed and cooking one pancake at a time, keeping the cooked pancakes covered with a clean tea towel until all the pancakes are cooked.
- Divide the pancakes up between your plates, drizzling your sweetener as generously as you like over the top.
- Finish each serving with a dollop of yoghurt and a scattering of berries on top.
Taken from Van Life Cookbook – Resourceful Recipes for Life on the Road: From Small Spaces to the Great Outdoors by Danny Jack and Hailee Kukura, published by Pavilion Books at £14.99. Photography by Holly Farrie. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £11.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Gavin Newsom mulls California redistricting to counter Texas gerrymandering
TALKING POINTS A controversial plan has become a major flashpoint among Democrats struggling for traction in the Trump era
-
6 perfect gifts for travel lovers
The Week Recommends The best trip is the one that lives on and on
-
How can you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefit?
the explainer These steps can help boost the Social Security amount you receive
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
Too Much: London-set romantic comedy from Lena Dunham
The Week Recommends Megan Stalter stars as a 'neurotic' New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit
-
Apocalypse in the Tropics: a 'troubling' portrait of modern Brazil
The Week Recommends Petra Costa's sobering documentary examines the rise of right-wing evangelical Christianity in Brazilian politics
-
Murderland: a 'hauntingly compulsive' book
The Week Recommends Caroline Fraser sets out a 'compelling theory' that toxins were to blame for the 1970s serial killer epidemic
-
The 2025 James Beard Award winners
Feature Featuring a casually elegant restaurant, recipes nearly lost to war, and more
-
Film reviews: Superman and Sorry, Baby
Feature A hero returns, in surprising earnest, and a woman navigates life after a tragedy
-
Music reviews: Lorde, Barbra Streisand, and Karol G
Feature "Virgin," "The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two," and "Tropicoqueta"
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventure
Feature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more