Are you flipping mad today!
Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday
Mix a pancake
Stir a pancake
Pour it in the pan
Fry the pancake
Toss the pancake
Catch it if you can!
Is there anyone who doesn’t know about Pancake Day / Shrove Tuesday; it is part of our psyche. On Tuesday children and parents in kitchens and schools all over the country will be flipping pancakes!
Little history first; making and eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday was a way of using up the fatty foods in the cupboard such as milk, eggs and sugar before fasting for Lent. Yes, these were the fatty foods of the day long before chocolates and crisps! In religious terms, the 40 days of Lent meant eating plainer food and refusing meals that would give pleasure. In many cultures this means no meat, dairy or eggs. Each of these foods also had meaning:
Eggs ~ Creation,
Flour ~ The staff of life,
Salt ~Wholesomeness
Milk ~ Purity.
Pancake recipes have been found in cookbooks from as far back as 1439, but don't worry, my recipes won't be in 'ye olde English'. Pancakes are one of the easiest and versatile foods to make. Here's how I do it....
Ingredients
200g plain flour
500ml milk (or half milk and water)
2 eggs
pinch salt
1 tbs castor sugar
Put all of the ingredients into a bowl and beat until well mixed and smooth. It may seem a little runny at this stage but this is normal. Leave it to thicken for 5-10 mins.
Heat a frying pan and then wipe around the inside with a piece of kitchen roll dipped lightly in oil. Then pour enough batter into the pan until it covers the base thinly. Don't add too much otherwise the pancakes will be too thick and heavy. If you have to , move the pan from side to side to cover the base with the batter.
Let the pancake heat through until it is dry on the surface. Loosen around the edge with a palette knife, give the pan a shake from side to side to loosen the pancake. Then be brave and toss the pancake into the air. It should overturn mid air and land back in the pan cooked side up (well that's the theory!).
Of course you can just turn it with a fish slice or palette knife, I do ;)
Put the cooked pancake into a teatowel or greaseproof paper on a cooling try.
The best way to eat them is to sprinkle with sugar and fresh lemon juice while they are still warm!
If you want to impress with your pancakes, you can go a step further and make the french classic Crepe Suzette. It is sooo delicious! Warm pancakes in a warm orange sauce with a dollop of ice-cream, greek yoghurt or creme fraiche. Try it.
Crepe Suzette
3 tbs castor sugar
250ml orange juice
zest of 1 orange
1 tbs Cointreau liquer (optional)
50g butter
Method
Put the caster sugar into a non-stick frying pan and set the pan over a low-medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt slowly without stirring and continue to cook until it becomes a deep amber-coloured caramel. Immediately slide the pan off the heat and add the orange juice – be careful as it may splatter and spit as it hits the hot caramel.
Add the orange zest, the Cointreau and return the pan to a low heat to re-melt the caramel into the liquid. Add the butter to the sauce in small pieces, bring to the boil and simmer gently until glossy and reduced slightly. After this stage you can add the orange segments from the orange that you zested.
Add the pancakes to the pan and warm through and fold into quarters.
Serve immediately with cream, ice cream or yoghurt etc. What's not to like! Enjoy!
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