Hotcakes with gooey chocolate sauce

1.To make gooey chocolate sauce, place chocolate and liquid cream into a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water, then stir until melted. Remove from heat and let it come to warm or room temperature.

2.To make hotcakes, sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar together until thick and pale.

3.Make a well in the flour mixture and add egg yolk mixture, milk and vanilla. Whisk in the centre of the bowl until all the flour comes in from the sides and the mixture is smooth. If you have time, cover and leave to sit for 30 minutes.

4.Whisk egg whites to form soft peaks and fold through the batter.

5.Heat a large (preferably non-stick) frying pan over medium-low heat. Don’t let it get too hot – to test, flick a few drops of water in the pan. The drops should dance when it’s ready. If your pan is a really good non-stick one, you needn’t worry about butter – you get a more even surface. Otherwise, add 2 teaspoons of butter to pan, then add almost a ladle of batter to make a practice hotcake about the size of a side plate (the first one never works). After that, try using no butter at all.

6.Cook for a minute or so until bubbles form and pop on the surface, then flip with a metal turner and leave until cooked right through. It should be golden on both sides, not dark brown.

7.Serve with gooey chocolate sauce, whipped cream and chocolate shavings. Berries would be a nice addition too.