Pancakes

The American pancake — a thick, fluffy, round griddle cake made from flour, eggs, milk, butter, baking powder, and sometimes buttermilk, cooked on a greased griddle until golden and served in a stack with butter and maple syrup — is the defining American breakfast and the food that most clearly distinguishes the American morning table from every other culture's. The European ancestor (French crêpe, English pancake, Dutch pannenkoek) is thin; the American pancake is deliberately thick and fluffy, leavened with baking powder into something closer to a cake than a flatbread. IHOP, Denny's, and every American diner have institutionalized the format: a stack of three, butter melting between layers, syrup pooling on the plate.

A thick (1-1.5cm), round (10-12cm diameter) griddle cake, golden-brown on both sides with a slightly crispy edge, soft and fluffy interior with visible air bubbles. Served in a stack of 2-4, each layer dotted with butter, the stack drenched in warm maple syrup (or maple-flavoured syrup). The batter: flour, egg, milk (or buttermilk), melted butter, sugar, baking powder, salt.

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