Recipe |Cherry Pancakes

Ingredients (Makes 4):

200 g all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 small tub (75ml) natural yoghurt

Cherry jam to serve

Method:

1. Sift flour with baking soda.

2. Place eggs and yoghurt into a mixing bowl and beat in flour mixture until well combined.

3. Rest the batter for 15 minutes.

4. Heat up a non-stick frying pan and make the pancakes with a ladle of batter each.

5. Use a medium fire and wait until bubbles form on the top of the pancake before flipping them.

6. Serve hot with child butter and cherry jam.

Recipe |Basic Cherry Jam

Ingredients (makes two jars):

1 kg cherries, stoned

500 g castor sugar

A few sprigs rosemary, washed and dried

Method:

1. Place the cherries and sugar in a heavy-bottomed pan. A cast-iron Dutch oven is best, but any heavy pot that can withstand long simmering is fine.

2. Gradually bring the cherry mixture to a boil. The juices of the cherries will create enough liquid. Do not add water.

3. Stir until sugar melts and turn down to a slow simmer. Add the rosemary sprigs. Patiently cook the jam, stirring occasionally.

4. After about 30 minutes, remove the rosemary sprigs.

5. Continue to reduce the jam until it is thick and sticky. Cool in the pan and scoop into jars. Keep refrigerated.

Food notes:

The usual proportion of fruit to sugar is one to one, but I have reduced the sugar in this recipe as I find the usual amount of sugar too sweet. As a result, this jam needs to be kept in the fridge, and always use a clean spoon or knife so the jam is not contaminated. This jam keeps for about two weeks.

You can eat the jam on buttered toast, or stir a spoonful into natural yoghurt. Or, eat it with muffins, with a dollop of crme fraiche or Greek yoghurt.

Our cherry jam is disappearing fast with pancakes, on cereals and as a topping for cupcakes.