Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, caster sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt. You’ll see the pale, powdery mixture become uniform with no streaks of white — that’s your cue it’s ready.

Combine the wet ingredients: In a separate jug, whisk the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract until the mixture looks smooth and pale yellow, with the butter fully incorporated. It should smell faintly of vanilla and have a creamy consistency.

Make the batter: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently with a spatula or wooden spoon. Stop mixing as soon as you see a few flour streaks — a few lumps are fine, and overmixing will make the pancakes tough. The batter should be thick but pourable, like double cream.

Fold in the blueberries: Gently fold the blueberries into the batter with a few swift strokes. You want them evenly distributed, but don’t stir so much that the berries break and turn the batter purple. You’ll see little blue pockets throughout the thick mixture.

Rest the batter: Leave the batter to sit for 5 minutes while you heat your pan. This resting time allows the gluten to relax and the baking powder to start working, so your pancakes will be noticeably taller and softer. You’ll see a few tiny bubbles appear on the surface — that’s the gas forming.

Heat the pan: Place a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat and add a drizzle of sunflower oil. Once the oil shimmers and a drop of water flicked onto the pan sizzles and evaporates instantly, the temperature is just right. If the water sits and bubbles slowly, the pan isn’t hot enough yet.

Cook the pancakes: Pour about 60ml of batter per pancake onto the hot pan. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until the edges look set and you see bubbles forming on the surface. The bubbles will pop and leave small holes — when most of the surface has bubbles and the bottom is golden brown, flip the pancake. Cook for another 1–2 minutes, until the other side is golden and the pancake feels springy to the touch.

Keep warm while cooking: Place the cooked pancakes on a wire rack in a low oven (about 100°C) while you finish the batch. This keeps them warm without steaming them, so they stay fluffy rather than turning soggy. You’ll see the stack growing taller with each batch.

Serve immediately: Stack the pancakes on plates, drizzle generously with maple syrup or honey, and add a few extra fresh blueberries on top if you like. The syrup should run down the sides, catching the golden edges of each pancake.