Christmastime provides just the opportunity for lazy breakfasts and slow mornings with friends and family – how delightful it is to take things slowly and remember that God entered our world as a person to save people like us! And pancakes are an affordable option for making things a bit more special than usual – for treasuring Christmas and the people God brings into our lives. But pancakes can be tricky too – the first few are always duds as the person cooking gets the temperature of the pan and their technique just right, and for that poor person cooking, it can be a task that takes most of the morning if there are lots of keen pancake eaters in the house. The recipe that follows is my attempt to solve this problem whilst still making Christmas breakfast special. The batter can be made the day before and stored in the fridge so there’s almost no work in the morning. If you require more pancake cups, simply double the recipe. Doing so fits inside a 2L food processing bowl perfectly. This recipe makes 16 pancake cups and using berries, cream and maple syrup, costs around $7 to make.

For pancake cups:

• 225g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 eggs
• 30g butter, melted
• 300ml milk

Fill cups with your choice of:

• 300g frozen mixed berries
• icing sugar for dusting
• cream for dolloping or drizzling
• ice-cream
• maple syrup

1. Remove berries from freezer and begin thawing in a bowl. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius (180 degrees if fan-forced).
2. Grease muffin holes using a little extra melted butter or spray oil.
3. Put all pancake cup ingredients in a food processor and blitz for 30 seconds until combined. Use immediately or store in fridge for when needed (If you do this, the batter will thicken slightly. If this happens, don’t stress – just thin it out with a whisk and a little extra milk just before using it).
4. Fill 1/3 – half of each muffin hole (no more) and bake in oven for 8 minutes. After this time, the pancakes will be golden brown and flat. As soon you take them from the oven, use a soup spoon to push each one down in the middle, creating a crater/cup shape. Pop out of the tins onto a shared plate and top with berries and dusted icing sugar. Enjoy!