Pancakes with Elderflower

Ingredients:
8 to 10 elderflower heads, plus extra to decorate
150 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
50 g caster sugar
2 medium eggs, separated
125 ml milk
125 ml sparkling water
vegetable oil
icing sugar for dusting
lemon curd to serve

Directions:

Wash the elderflower heads well to remove any insects and pat dry on kitchen paper. Pull the tiny clusters of flowers from the stems.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl with the egg yolks. Gradually beat in the milk then the sparkling water to make a thick, smooth batter. Stir in the elderflowers. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until peaking. Stir into the batter to lighten it.

Heat a thin film of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Pour a little batter into the pan so it spreadsto a circle 9 cm to 10 cm in diameter. Pour in two or three more cicles, but don’t let them run into each other. Cook gently for about a minute until golgen on the undersides then flip over to cook the bases for a futher minute or so until golden. Transfer to a warmed serving plate while you use up the remaining batter, adding a little more oil to the pan if necessary.

To serve, scatter more elderflowers over the pancakes, lightly dust with icing sugar and add a scoop of lemon curd.