Years ago, I started a simple family food tradition. We lived in Europe, and I wanted to share with my children a tradition from my childhood: Sunday pancakes. Not Swedish pancakes, not French crepes, but good old American-style pancakes doused with maple syrup.

Each Sunday, I would make our pancakes from scratch (no such thing as a mix in Europe), and my children would help out, stirring the batter, flipping the cakes, and arguing over who would stand on the stool next to the stove. Eventually my children didn't need a stool, and then they lost interest in making the pancakes, but they never lost interest in eating them.

We moved from Switzerland to London and eventually to Copenhagen, and with each move, we packed our belongings, our memories and our family traditions, only to unpack and arrange them in our new home, carefully placing and comforting ourselves with the familiar, while reassuring ourselves with our rituals. The first morning we woke in our new house, we would make Sunday Pancakes, even if it was Monday or any other day, because some rituals are that important.

I still make Sunday Pancakes from time to time. Whenever I can, I try to slip some healthy grains into the batter, because, after all, that's the motherly thing to do. Sometimes I substitute a little almond flour, whole-wheat or kamut flour in the mix.

The whole-grain flours add a nuttier density to the pancakes, while the almond flour is lighter. Fortunately, all of these substitutions have passed the Sunday morning pancake taste-test. (It can be tricky messing with a family tradition, after all.) In this recipe, you can simply omit the whole-wheat or almond flour and use 2 cups all-purpose flour, if desired.

Sunday Pancakes

Active time: 20 minutes

Total time: 20 minutes

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat or almond flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg, lightly whisked

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for cooking

Whisk the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. Whisk the buttermilk, egg and butter together in a separate bowl. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour and stir to combine without over-mixing.

Melt a nob of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Scoop or pour large spoonfuls of the batter into pan. Cook the pancakes until golden brown on both sides and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes, flipping once. Serve warm with maple syrup.