With Shrove Tuesday coming up shortly (February 24 this year), it’s time to get the non-stick frying pan out and begin thinking pancakes, which are so delicious and easy to make you can eat them throughout the year.

The secret to making a good pancake batter that turns out light and crisp is ‘time’.

By leaving the batter to rest for at least a half an hour before frying, success is assured.

Whilst pancakes are traditionally enjoyed with lemon and sugar, I have filled mine with cooked Bramley apples, then topped them with sugar.

You will need: 4oz (125g) plain flour One egg – beaten Half pint milk (300ml) Pinch salt Vegetable oil to fry pancakes Two large Bramley apples Caster sugar to sweeten apples and dust pancakes.

Method: Place flour and salt in bowl and add the egg and beat together, then gradually add the milk, beating well until all lumps have vanished.

Leave the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes. Use this time to peel, core, slice and stew the apples with a little water and sugar to taste.

The trick to cooking pancakes is to ensure that the pan is really hot and that there is only enough oil in the bottom to grease the surface. This can be achieved by pouring off surplus oil from the pan before adding the pancake batter.

Pour just enough batter into a seven-inch pan to coat the surface, turning it all ways until the base is lightly covered.

Cook for about two minutes, or until the bottom begins to brown, then carefully turn over. Cook the second side until it begins to brown and then transfer on to a warm plate while you cook the next one.

Repeat, oiling the pan each time, until all the batter is used up, piling the pancakes on top of each other, with a sheet of greaseproof paper between each one to stop them sticking together.

Serve by folding each one in half, adding a spoonful of the cooked apple and folding once more.

Scatter a little caster sugar on top and serve two per portion.