Pancake Day!

OK, so maybe you were expecting an article from me about Shrove Tuesday, a day of repentance prior to Lent. I have nothing against days of repentance, or even those who choose to observe a Lenten fast. Christians of the Reformed persuasion (as I am) generally don’t go in for those kinds of observances–it all goes back to the Reformation, and I’m sure you don’t want me to lecture you on church history.*

However, when I was growing up, the Tuesday prior to Lent was always “pancake day.” Every year on Shrove Tuesday, my mum (and I believe, on occasion, my dad) would make pancakes for us. Some of you may not be aware that British (or at least English**) pancakes are not the same as American pancakes. American pancakes are about the size of a hamburger and thick, whereas English pancakes are large and flat–a bit like a crêpe. Here are some pictorial examples:

English pancakes rolled up.

If you’ve never had an English-style pancake, they’re very easy and very quick to make. All you need is some flour, some milk, a couple of eggs, and perhaps some butter (not everyone uses butter in their pancake recipe). You can then spread your favourite filling in the middle before rolling. The following recipe makes about 8 pancakes.

Put a cup of flour into a mixing bowl, then make a well in the middle of the flour. Crack two eggs into the well and beat the eggs and flour together. When you have these mixed to a smooth consistency, start adding about a cup and a quarter of milk–mixing it in gradually to help maintain a smooth, lump-free mixture. If you want, you can add 2 teaspoons of melted butter to the mix when you’ve added about half the milk. But you don’t have to.

You then want to let the pancake batter sit–some people say 15 mins is good enough, though some like to refrigerate the mixture for an hour. I think the last time I made pancakes I refrigerated the mixture for an hour. Does it make any difference? I don’t honestly know–I’m not Bobby Flay, I just follow a recipe!

When your batter is ready to use, put a little oil or butter in a medium pan and heat on high. Once the pan is hot, turn the heat down to medium, then ladle enough batter to lightly coat the bottom of the pan (note the thickness of the pancakes in the picture above on the right). It should take about a minute to cook, at which point you flip the pancake (or turn with a spatula if you’re not that adventurous) and cook the other side for about 30 seconds. As you can see from the picture, the pancakes should be a nice golden brown colour. Put the pancake on a plate and repeat, stacking the pancakes as you go until you run out of batter.

The traditional filling for pancakes is sugar and lemon. Take one of your pancakes on a plate, lightly sprinkle sugar over it, then squeeze some lemon juice on it. Then roll the pancake and eat! Other popular fillings are jam (strawberry jam is really tasty on a pancake), and honey. I’ve not tried chocolate spread on a pancake, but I bet that would be tasty. Mmm… Nutella!

Anyway, I hope you have a fun day. And if you try the pancakes, I wish you every success and good eating! 🙂

* Just to clarify, I believe times of fasting and repentance are good and, especially the latter, should be practiced often. What I have in mind here, though, are church calendar observances (Shrove Tuesday, Lent, etc.).

** I believe Scottish pancakes are more like American pancakes, only smaller. Perhaps one of my Scottish friends *cough* Emma Maree *cough* could confirm this?