Pancake Day: Fluffy Pancake recipe by Kerri Girvan

It’s Pancake Day on Tuesday 16^th February, and I don’t know about you, but I’m so flipping excited! Pancake Day, also known as Shrove Tuesday, is a moveable feast, meaning it falls on a different day each year. It is celebrated on the day prior to Ash Wednesday, which in turn marks the beginning of Lent. Lent itself is a religious observance by some which lasts 40 days and ends on Easter Sunday. Within those 40 days, people traditionally chose to give up the extravagances of life, which was usually their surplus food.

There is no ultimate secret recipe for pancakes, after all the whole meaning of Shrove Tuesday was to use up the excess food hovering at the back of your cupboards. The French like to use a thin crepe method, and Americans traditionally use a fluffy pancake method. Whether you like your pancakes sweet or savoury, fat, or thin, vegan or gluten free; that is your decision. The only thing that isn’t up for debate is the difficulty in not eating them all at once!

 

If you’d like to try a fluffy pancake method this Pancake Tuesday, here is my basic recipe.

140g self-raising flour

1 large egg, beaten

2 tsp of baking powder

15g of melted butter (plus extra for cooking)

3 tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp salt

130g milk

 

1.    Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large mixing bowl.

2.    Combine egg, melted butter, and milk. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and slowly pour in the wet ingredients. 

3.    Whisk both wet and dry ingredients together until you are left with a thick wet batter. Pour this into a jug or have a ladle nearby.

4.    Heat a small knob of butter on a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Once the butter has fully melted, pour your batter into the pan. You can do this in batches of 3 or 4 depending on the size of your frying pan.

5.    Cook the pancakes on one side for 2 minutes, or until golden. Flip (in the air optional) your pancakes and cook for 1-2 minutes on the other side. Repeat until you have used up all the batter.

6.    Serve your pancake in a large stack, and either top with a drizzle of syrup or a topping of your choice.