THE Hideaway in Urmston has been named one of the top-eight brunch spots in Manchester for the second year in a row — and here is one of the reasons why.

Its buttermilk pancakes are a real winter warmer and a good source of comfort food, as recognised by the Culture Trip website.

The Hideaway serves them with maple syrup and streaky bacon and strawberry compote and ice cream.

They are simple to make and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients

• 350g/12oz self-raising flour

• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 200ml/7fl oz buttermilk

• 400ml/14fl oz semi-skimmed milk

• 2 free-range eggs

• 100g/3½oz unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for frying

• 4 rashers smoked streaky bacon

• 50ml/1¾oz maple syrup

Method

1 In a bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and sugar together.

2 In a separate bowl or jug, mix together the buttermilk, milk, eggs and butter. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and stir to combine. Do not over beat – if the batter is lumpy, set it aside for a few minutes and any lumps will disappear.

3 Melt a small knob of butter in a large frying pan. Using a ladle, pour some batter into the pan to make a pancake. Depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to make more than one pancake at a time, or if you are confident you can use two pans at the same time.

4 Cook the pancakes for about a minute, or until the underside is golden-brown and the top is bubbling. Then turn them over using a palette knife or fish slice and cook for another minute. Keep the pancakes warm in a very low oven while you cook the remaining batter.

5 Meanwhile, preheat the grill to medium/hot. Lay the bacon on a grill tray and brush with maple syrup. Grill until one side of the bacon is crisp. Turn over and brush the other side with maple syrup and cook until crisp.

6 Serve the pancakes stacked on top of each other, topped with grilled bacon and drizzled with maple syrup.