Gordon Ramsay’s Secret To Perfectly Flipping Pancakes

If you’re anything like me, you reckon pancake day is basically the Christmas of springtime, except better. Everyone knows exactly what their job is; we must make pancakes, and then eat them, and then do that again. Bliss.

Except for some of us (ie me), the “making” bit is where we mess up. 

If you’re a fellow flipping failure, facing disappointing shreds of half-cooked pancake batter stuck to your pan’s base every time you attempt the trick, though, fear not ― none other than Gordon Ramsay has got our backs. 

The chef shared a video on Facebook revealing how he perfected the flip.

How does Gordon flip his pancakes?

He starts by spraying oil into a hot pan, his prepped and rested batter beside his hob. 

“As [the pan] starts to smoke, lift [it] up” off the heat, he advises. 

Then, get “one nice ladle” of batter into the centre of the pan and “then roll that around” ― Gordon shakes his pan as it turns for even distribution. “The thinner the pancake, the crispier it is,” he advises.

After spreading the mix around the pan, he leaves it to cook on the heat ― Gordon adds the toppings to a previously-flipped pancake at this point (raspberries, honey, lemon juice, and lemon, if you’re interested). 

Once this is done, he’s ready to flip. “Tap your pan twice,” he advises, slamming the base of his frying pan onto the metal grids on his hob. 

Then, he shakes the pan to loosen the crepe ― if it’s cooked enough to flip, it should lift from the base pretty easily. 

Then, he shimmies the crepe even further down the pan until one side spills over the lip in an expectant curl. It’s ready to flip. 

The motion is to “push away, and flip back up with your wrist,” Gordon explains. 

After it’s flipped, you only need to cook it for “literally 30 seconds,” as the base (now the top) of the pancake is already crisped up.

How does Gordon make his batter?

His recipe involves 100g flour, 300ml milk, and two eggs. 

A typical pancake recipe involves making a well in the sifted flour ― I use the back of a ladle to do this ― and adding your eggs into that, slowly mixing the flour further and further into the wet mixture and gently pouring the first 200ml of the milk into the batter until it forms a smooth paste. 

Then, the rest of the milk is stirred in. Mary Berry uses one egg and one yolk instead of two eggs for the perfect tender crepe. 

Gordon lets his mixture “rest for about 15 minutes” before cooking it. 

Whether you choose the Mary Berry ingredients or go with Gordon, though, here’s hoping you have a flippin’ perfect pancake day!