Pancake Day Recipes

No sooner have you given yourself a pat on the back for sticking to your New Year diet, then Pancake day (Shrove Tuesday) comes along and smacks you in the chops like a cold French crepe. Thank goodness it’s only one day and if you can’t have the occasional pancake treat then quite frankly, you might as well give up eating all together.

Here’s a couple of fool hardy recipes to get you flipping and flopping through the day, one for proper French crepes and the other for a good old fashioned Drop Scone or Scotch Pancake as they’re sometimes known. Try them with fruit and honey so at least it’s mildly healthy or go all out and indulge yourself with lots of maple syrup and ice cream. However you eat them, have a great day!

French Crepes – You will need:

125g Plain flour

250ml Milk

2 Eggs

1 tbsp Caster sugar

45g Butter, melted then cooled slightly

Sunflower oil for frying

Equipment: Shallow frying pan, palette knife or spatula, paper towels

Preparation:

1. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool slightly while you prepare the pancake batter.
2. Put the flour and sugar in a large bowl, whisk in the eggs, gradually adding the milk to produce a batter with a double cream consistency, so not too runny or too thick.
3. Whisk in your cooled, melted butter.
4. Transfer the batter to a pouring jug, cover with clingfilm and set aside for 30 minutes.
5. In a shallow frying pan pour in a drop of oil and allow to heat up, wiping away any excess with a paper towel. Allow the oil to heat in the pan over a medium heat until it reaches smoking point.
6. Now pour in some batter, just enough to cover the base of the pan, making sure to spread it around by holding the frying pan in one hand and gently tilting it from side to side to spread the batter evenly as you pour it in.
7. Crepes don’t take long to cook at all so be ready to flip. You will see the sides brown and come away from the bottom of the pan as the heat cooks the pancake.
8. Use your palette knife and glide it under the pancake so it doesn’t stick to the pan. Now push the knife under and the middle of the pancake to lift up and flip over very quickly in one action!
9. Put the cooked pancake on a plate and cover with a tea towel whilst you make the rest.

Tip: Apart from the regular lemon and sugar, why not try eating your pancake with golden syrup, nutella, melted chocolate or even something savoury like roasted veg and hummus, or cheese and spinach!

Drop Scones (Scotch Pancakes) – You will need:

250g Self-raising flour

225/250ml Milk (you may or may not need all of it)

1 Egg

25g Caster sugar

25g Butter, melted then cooled slightly

Sunflower oil, for frying

Equipment: Shallow frying pan, palette knife or spatula, paper towels

Preparation:

1. As with crepes, put the flour and sugar in a large bowl and add the egg and half the milk, whisk lightly.
2. Gradually add the rest of the milk and the melted butter. Keep whisking to iron out any lumps. You should have a thicker consistency than crepe batter, like semi-whipped cream.
3. Transfer the batter to a pouring jug and set aside.
4. Put a little oil in the pan, wiping away any excess with a paper towel and heat on a medium flame until the pan is very hot but not quite smoking.
5. Remember, these are smaller pancakes so you will be able to make 3 or 4 small ones at once.
6. Pour a little batter into the pan in three or four places and allow to cook for longer than crepes. They should brown on one side and you will see bubbles appear in the uncooked batter on the top part of the pancake.
7. Now flip each pancake over using a palette knife or spatula.
8. These pancakes are fun to make but can be a little messy as the uncooked batter can fly around as you flip them over but don’t worry, this is normal!
9. Put the made ones in a plate and cover with a tea towel whilst you make the rest.

Tip: Jazz up your drop scones: At the batter stage, you can add cooked, stewed apples or blueberries and mix in then make the pancakes as normal. Serve with golden syrup, lemon and sugar or butter and jam for a perfect afternoon tea! Kids especially love these thicker style pancakes and they’re perfect for little hands.