This spinach and Gruyère brunch is an American-inspired recipe. I haven’t cooked it for a while and then used it at the Cookery School recently and it was a great success. People loved it and I had almost forgotten how tasty it is.

We used Simply Better Gruyère cheese and also their corn-fed eggs. People went home saying they would definitely be trying it on their families as it is so easy to make and so tasty. You could try it with smoky bacon or with cooked chicken.

I love cinnamon in pancakes. It is a favourite spice of mine when baking. These pancakes are great for children to make over the holiday weekend. They will definitely enjoy the experience. You will find them surprisingly filling. For a slightly lighter pancake, you could use self-raising flour instead.

Happy cooking.

One-tray spinach and Gruyere brunch

Serves four to six

50g (2oz) butter, plus a little extra

5 shallots, chopped small

550g (1 1/4lb) spinach, tough stalks removed and washed

10 slices multigrain brown bread (or similar)

175g (3oz) Gruyere cheese, finely grated

6 large eggs

5 tbsp milk

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Melt a knob of the butter in a sauté pan over a medium heat and sauté the shallots for about five minutes until softened but not coloured. Stir in the spinach in fistfuls and sauté until just softened and wilted. Season to taste and drain in a colander and then on kitchen paper to remove all the excess moisture.

2 Use the rest of the butter to spread over the slices of bread and then fill with the cooled-down spinach mixture and sprinkle over half of the cheese. Cut each sandwich in half to make two triangles and then arrange in a buttered ovenproof dish that is 27 x 21cm x 6cm (10 ½ x 8 1/4in x 2 1/4in) deep.

3 Break the eggs into a bowl and add the milk, then season generously and whisk until just combined. Pour over the sandwiches tightly packed in the dish and press down gently with a fish slice to ensure they are all soaked evenly. Cover with clingfilm and place in the fridge overnight or you can cook it immediately if you prefer but if you’ve the time try to give it a least half an hour for the bread to soak up all of the liquid.

4 Preheat the oven to 200C, (400F/gas mark 6). Remove the clingfilm and sprinkle over the remaining cheese and bake for 25 minutes until just golden brown. Serve at once straight to the table.

Cinnamon swirl pancakes with cream cheese glaze

Makes six to eight pancakes

For the cinnamon swirl

100g (4oz) unsalted butter

75g (3oz) light brown sugar

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

For the cream cheese glaze

100g (4oz) unsalted butter

50g (2oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

100g (4oz) icing sugar, sifted

½ tsp vanilla extract

For the pancakes

125g (4 1/2oz) plain flour

pinch of sea salt

1 large egg, lightly beaten

about 100ml (3 1/2fl oz) buttermilk

Donegal Rapeseed oil for frying

1 To make the cinnamon swirl, melt the butter in a pan over a low heat but do not allow it to bubble. Stir in the brown sugar and cinnamon and then carefully pour into a small zip-lock bag and set aside until needed. It will naturally thicken up a little as it cools and will need a quick stir just before you intend to use it.

2 To make the glaze, melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cream cheese until almost smooth. Tip in the icing sugar and vanilla extract and whisk again until smooth. Set aside while you make the pancakes.

3 Put the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl and make a slight dip in the middle with a fork. Break in the egg and add a little of the buttermilk, then beat until smooth, adding enough of the rest of the buttermilk to make a smooth, thick batter.

4 Heat a medium non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Using kitchen paper smear the pan with a little oil, then spoon in large spoonfuls of the batter – each pancake should be about 10cm (4in) in diameter. You’ll need to cook pancakes in batches.

5 Reduce heat to low and snip the end of one side of the cinnamon mixture in the zip-lock bag and make a cinnamon swirl in each pancake. You’ll need to work quickly and leave a border around the edge of each pancake so the swirl does not spill over.

6 Once bubbles begin to appear on the pancakes, turn them over using a wide metal spatula and cook for another two to three minutes until golden. Keep warm on a plate while you cook the remainder, wiping the pan with kitchen paper after each batch.

7 When ready to serve, reheat the cream cheese glaze over a low heat. Arrange the pancakes on warmed plates and drizzle over the cream cheese glaze. CL