Buttermilk Pancakes

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Pancake Mix! Recipe »

Have you ever bought those pre-made breakfast pancake shaker mixes at the supermarket? Did you know that making pancake mix at home is a cinch? Here's how to make your own easy Christmas scented pumpkin spice buttermilk pancake mix for breakfast or for a thoughtful Christmas gift for friends and family.

A friend of mine Gina isn't a very keen cook. In fact she doesn't like cooking much at all. She finds it a chore at the end of the day commuting along the motorway and she gets home rather late. Her husband usually finishes work early and often grabs something from the takeaway for dinner. So one night when we suggested that we go out for Korean BBQ she begged off. You see she didn't really see the point of going out to eat when you were simply going to be doing the cooking yourself. To her, the appeal is that you don't have to cook or clean up and that's what you pay for.

I never really thought of it that way but I guess that is definitely how some people think. I'm much the opposite, I'll happily pick up a pair of tongs and barbecue the meat but it got me to thinking about people for whom cooking is too much a chore. Certainly edible Christmas gifts would be out of the question, but what if you could make a DIY edible Christmas gift that was so easy that even someone like Gina who hates being in the kitchen could make it?

Enter this buttermilk pancake mix!

This buttermilk pancake mix is a recipe from chef Constanza Latorre when I saw the recipe pinned to her wall. She also gave me the tomato sauce recipe which I loved. There is really no need to buy those premixed pancake shaker things when all they really are are flour, buttermilk powder and vanilla. This also omits other things that you don't really need.

This just requires mixing it all together and then putting it in a glass gift jar. You can control the amount of flavour in it and omit the sugar or salt if you need to for health reasons. I've kept this sugarless in case it needs to go savoury as well but you can add a couple of tablespoons of sugar too. This mix will actually go to Gina this Christmas - I hope that she will actually make it but you never know as it does require some cooking!

So tell me Dear Reader, how do you feel about cooking? Is it a chore? Do you avoid places like Korean BBQ where you have to cook? Or are you the person holding the tongs?

Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Pancake Mix!

Preparation time: 5 minutes

• 2 cups/300g/10.6ozs plain all purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons dried buttermilk powder*
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• Pumpkin spice mix (2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger) or 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt

*Buyer's tip: buttermilk powder is available at some health food stores. I bought it at About Life in Bondi Junction. Well actually my personal trainer picked it up for me. She delivers buttermilk powder and fitness apparently.

Step 1 - Mix all ingredients together and store in a container or decant into a glass gift jar.

Step 2 - For every cup of this pre mix, add 1 egg and 1 cup of milk and whisk together. Fry on a lightly buttered pan.