Pancake Day

Pancake is a flat, thin cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan which is served immediately. Lemon juice, golden syrup or caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes. Pancake has a long history and has featured in cookery books as far back as 1439. Whether you know it as Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, this is a day to gorge on one of the most enjoyable breakfast treats. This day is regarded as the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday.
Lent is a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Christians went to confession and were absolved of their sins (shriven). A bell would be rung for confession. This was referred to as the “Pancake Bell” and is still rung today. Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to use up eggs and fats before starting the Lenten fast and pancakes remains a perfect way of using up these ingredients. The reason pancakes are chosen on Shrove Tuesday is that they contain eggs, fat, and butter all of which used to be forbidden during Lent. These days, participants tend to give up less vital dietary ingredients such as chocolate or coffee.
RECIPE FOR MAKING A BASIC PANCAKE
• 100g plain flour
• 300ml milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil or sunflower, plus a little extra for frying
• lemon
• wedges, to serve (optional)
• caster sugar, to serve (optional)
Method
• Put the flour, eggs, milk, 1 tbsp oil and a pinch of salt in a large jug, or bowl then whisk to a creamy batter, then start cooking straight away.
• Set a frying pan over a little heat and carefully wipe it with some oiled kitchen paper. When hot, cook your pancakes for 1 min on each side until golden.
• Serve with your favorite filling.




DIFFERENT VARIATIONS OF PANCAKE
PANCAKE WITH CHOCOLATE
Chocolate Pancakes make the perfect chocolate lovers breakfast.
• Combine dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, cocoa powder) and gently whisk through to mix.
• Mix egg, vanilla, and butter
• Lightly combine wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix.
• Heat griddle over medium heat.
• Drop ¼ cup scoops of batter onto griddle.
• Flip once.
• Top with a bit of butter while still steaming hot.
• You can serve hot with your favorite pancake syrup or top with a bit of whipped cream and fresh berries
PANCAKE WITH JAM
STEPS
• Use a mixing bowl and add flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, milk, and 3 out of 4 tablespoons vegetable oil.
• Mix until the composition is smooth.
• Heat a frypan and use a brush to spread the oil each time you fry a pancake
• Cook for 3 minutes on each side.
• Put the pancakes on layers, and spread strawberry jam on each layer.
• Serve with fresh strawberries.
PANCAKE WITH HONEY
Be sweet to your family with delicious honey pancakes! They’ll love the honey-cinnamon syrup, too.
STEPS
• In a small bowl, beat the eggs. Add melted butter and eggs to the vanilla and milk. Then slowly add it to the dry mixture. Stir by hand to blend but do not overwork the batter.
• Allow the batter for 10 minutes to bubble up. This will give you that perfect pancake texture.
• Heat oil to medium-high in a large nonstick skillet or griddle. Make sure your oil is hot.
• Pour 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Observe, and flip when the cake is bubbly, and the edges start to turn brown.
• For the syrup, combine syrup, honey, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, and butter. Microwave in 15-second increments until butter melts. Stir after every 15 seconds.
• Serve your best pancakes while still warm with butter and honey cinnamon syrup
Finally, are you craving for sweet breakfast? Why not try pancakes! You'll always have fun when cooking pancakes, and somehow they always get the job done. Enjoy!