Japanese style pancakes

Preheat the oven to 120C/100C Fan/ Gas ½. Grease the base of a lidded frying pan with a little oil, then grease the insides of the chef’s rings or pastry cutters, if using.

Pour the oil, milk, vanilla extract and 1 of the egg whites into a jug and beat together with a fork until evenly mixed.

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, pour in the milk mixture, then beat together to make a stiff batter.

In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining egg whites until they form stiff, glossy peaks. Add the sugar, 1 heaped tsp at a time, whisking after each addition, to make a meringue mixture.

Whisk ½ the meringue mixture into the batter until just combined, then fold in the rest – take care not to beat out all the air that you’ve whisked in.

If using chef’s rings, put them in the frying pan over a low heat. Fill ¾ full with the batter, then cover the pan with the lid. Cook for 10 mins or until there are bubbles on the tops of the pancakes and the edges are starting to look dry. Carefully flip the pancakes over in the rings and cook for another 2 mins. Remove from the rings and put in the oven to keep warm.

Wash the rings, grease again and repeat to make 2 more pancakes.

If you’re not using rings, make 2 pancakes at a time. Heat the greased pan over a low setting and add the batter, 1 ladleful at a time, to make 2 pancakes. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 4-5 mins. Remove the lid and put another ladleful of batter on top of each one. Cover the pan and cook for another 4-5 mins. Flip very carefully and cook for 2 mins. Keep warm in the oven while you use up the rest of the batter to make 2 more pancakes.

Top the pancakes with the ice cream and raspberries, drizzle over the maple syrup and garnish with the mint sprigs to serve.