They couldn't be more simple to make, and all you need in the house is some flour, eggs, milk and maybe a bit of sugar. If supervised at the hob, children can easily make them, as ours do standing up on their chairs, fighting over who can make the biggest one.

A pancake, technically speaking, is a flat cake made from a batter of the aforementioned ingredients, and fried in a shallow pan or cooked on a greased griddle. It can be served flat, sprinkled with sugar, or rolled around a sweet or savoury filling.

Russian blinis, which are famously served with sour cream and caviar, or the thin French crepe or the slightly thicker drop scone, or American-style pancakes to serve with rashers and maple syrup, all fall under the pancake umbrella.

Buckwheat pancakes with creme fraiche and caviar or smoked salmon Makes 12 large (tablespoon drops) or about 40 small (teaspoon drops) pancakes These pancakes are similar to a Russian blini, but are a quicker version.

Caviar is made by pickling the roe of, most commonly, the sturgeon fish. A bit less expensive is caviar of salmon and lumpfish. It has long been thought to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Replace it with smoked salmon if you like, see below.

For the pancakes:

150g white flour 75g buckwheat flour Good pinch of salt ? tsp baking powder Two eggs Scant 200ml milk To serve:

150g approx creme fraiche Three tsp caviar or 12 small slices smoked salmon About two tsp chopped chives To make the pancakes:

place the flours, salt and baking powder in a bowl, into the centre add the milk and continue to whisk until the mixture is smooth. Heat a frying pan and with a piece of kitchen paper wipe the pan with a tiny knob of butter . . . no need to do this if it is non-stick. Place tablespoonfuls of the pancake batter onto the hot pan and cook for one-two minutes on each side till golden and firm in the centre. Don't let them burn . . . the heat should be at medium. Once all the pancakes are made, place them on an individual plates or one big plate. Let them cool and add a blob of creme fraiche and top with a little bit of caviar or a slice of smoked salmon on each one.

Sprinkle with a few finely chopped chives and watch them disappear off the plate.

Handy hint: I often make these with all white flour and no buckwheat flour.

Just use 225g white flour Drop scones Makes 15-20 225g plain flour 50g castor sugar One tsp cream of tartar (like Bextartar) 1/2 tsp bread soda Pinch of salt 25g butter Two eggs 225ml milk Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl and rub in the butter. Make a well in the centre and drop in the eggs and some of the milk. Whisk the mixture, starting in the centre to break up the eggs.

Add the rest of the milk and whisk madly for another few seconds until you have a smooth batter, with a few air bubbles on top.

Heat a frying pan on a medium heat. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan, well apart from each other. Cook for a minute or two, until bubbles appear on the top, then flip over and cook on the other side . . . they should be golden brown on both sides and feel firm in the centre. Serve immediately with butter on its own, butter and jam, apple jelly, lemon curd, or really good chocolate spread.

Pancakes with rashers and maple syrup Makes about 10 Pancakes served with rashers and maple syrup are often made with buttermilk and bicarbonate of soda, but I devised this recipe, with fresh milk and baking powder one morning when I had no buttermilk and it works perfectly for me.

150g self-raising flour (or cream flour with one tsp baking powder) One-two tbsp caster sugar One egg, lightly beaten 150ml milk 50g butter 10-12 rashers, cooked until nice and crispy Maple syrup Sieve the flour (and baking powder, if using) into a bowl, add the sugar and stir.

Whisk together the egg and milk, make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the liquid and whisk just until it comes together. Heat a frying pan and turn the heat down to medium low.

Melt 25g butter into the pan and put tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and cook for about two minutes, until bubbles appear on the surface, then turn the pancakes over and cook until they feel firm in the centre and the undersides are golden.

Repeat with the rest of the mixture. Serve straight from the pan with crispy rashers and a good drizzle of maple syrup.

Handy hint: To make cinnamon pancakes, add one tsp ground cinnamon to the pancake batter with the sugar.

Banana pancakes with chocolate fudge sauce Makes about 12 pancakes This recipe is from Antony Worrall Thompson's Real Family Food (see Best Book).

For the pancakes:

175g plain flour Pinch of salt Two tsp castor sugar Two large eggs and one egg yolk 150ml milk 150ml water Two tbsp melted butter, plus extra for cooking the pancakes 115g cream cheese 150g Greek yoghurt Two tbsp runny honey Two large ripe bananas, peeled and finely sliced 115g butter 115g light brown sugar 25g cocoa powder Filling:

Chocolate Sauce:

Four tbsp golden syrup 150ml cream For the pancake batter, sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt and sugar. Add the eggs and yolk and beat to combine. Add the milk and water slowly, and stir until the batter is covered in bubbles. Allow the batter to stand for close to an hour if possible . . . it will be that bit easier to cook the pancakes.

Add the melted butter to the batter and heat a little butter in your pancake pan, running it round to coat the sides of the pan. Pour in just enough batter to cover the base. Cook until golden underneath, then turn over with a palette knife or fish slice and cook for another half minute or so, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make the rest of the pancakes, using all the batter.

For the filling: mix together the cream cheese, yoghurt and honey, and beat until smooth. Carefully fold in the sliced bananas. Divide the filling between the pancakes and carefully roll them up, making sure your filling goes right to the edge of the pancake. Arrange on a warmed serving plate .

Finally, prepare the chocolate sauce. Beat the butter, sugar and cocoa powder together, then place in a saucepan with the golden syrup and cream.

Place on a medium heat and simmer until the sauce comes together.

Leave to cool for about five minutes, then pour over the pancakes. Serve with extra sliced bananas, if liked.

Butterscotch sauce You could make a butterscotch sauce instead of the chocolate sauce to serve with these pancakes, with a little cream (or even vanilla ice cream) and some slices of banana too.

This is the best recipe, and it keeps for ages. Great to have some in a jar in the fridge.

110g butter 175g brown sugar 110g sugar 275g golden syrup 225ml cream ? tsp vanilla extract Put all the ingredients into a saucepan on the heat, and boil for about four or five minutes, until it is smooth, stirring regularly.

Best book Antony Worrall Thompson's new book, 'Real Family Food', published by Mitchell Beazley, is one of the best on the market at the moment, as the trend continues for 'family' cookery books.

This book, typically of Antony, is jam packed with great recipes that you will actually try at home, and lots of good tips.