In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the centre and pour in the milk. Start with 1 1/4 cups milk, adding up to another 1/4 cup if necessary, as you mix it with the flour.

Add the two eggs, vanilla (if using) and oil, whisking until mixed but still a bit lumpy. Heat a frying pan (if it is not non-stick, you will need to melt a bit of butter or oil in it) and when hot, pour in some pancake mix. How much depends on how experienced you are at flipping pancakes and how big you want them. We do about 1/4 cup a time for small, easy-to-flip pancakes but you could make this as much as 1/2 cup of pancake mix.

If you are adding fruit, I like to sprinkle it on top of the pancake now.

When the pancake starts to bubble on top and is golden brown on the cooked side, turn it and continue cooking until both sides are golden brown.

The first pancake is always a bit of a test so adjust the batter by adding more flour if you need to make it thicker or more milk if you want a thinner pancake. In either case, just add a few spoonfuls at a time until you get it right.

Repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter. You may need to adjust the heat as pan tends to get hotter as you keep making pancakes.

Keep the cooked pancakes covered with a tea towel, to keep them warm while you finish cooking the rest.