FEBRUARY 16 is Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday.
Pancakes are associated with this day because they were a way to use up rich foods such as eggs, milk and sugar before the fasting season of 40 days during Lent.
It’s also thought that Pancake Day may have come from a pagan holiday where the round pancake was eaten to symbolise the sun and was a way of celebrating spring in the northern hemisphere.
Whether you like to flip them, toss them or slide them, bring out the frying pan and whip up a batch to enjoy with your favourite filling.
Fluffy coconut pancakes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
4 large eggs
2 tbs coconut oil, melted
1 tbs honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
100ml coconut milk
200ml buttermilk
75g coconut flour (this is gluten-free)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
30g butter, for cooking
Method
Preheat the oven to 100°C and heat a plate to keep the pancakes warm while you make them.
Put the eggs in a bowl and add the coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. Mix well. Stir in the coconut milk and buttermilk.
In another bowl, mix the coconut flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt.
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring gently. The batter will be thick and fluffy.
Melt a little butter in a large non-stick heavy frying pan over medium heat.
Add 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake and flatten slightly. Cook as many pancakes as will fit at one time.
Cook for 2 minutes, or until the underneath is lightly golden (check by using a spatula, as the batter won’t bubble).
Flip over carefully and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until golden.
Keep the pancakes warm, and repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to the pan as necessary.
Serve warm with your chosen accompaniments.
Recipe by Sudi Pigott.
Chocolate pancakes with mascarpone, raspberries, and toasted hazelnuts
Ingredients
60g flour
40g cocoa
Pinch of salt
30g castor sugar
1 egg
250ml milk
50g butter
175g mascarpone
2 tbs icing sugar
1 punnet raspberries
100g hazelnuts
Method
Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt and combine with the castor sugar in a bowl.
Crack the egg into a bowl, add the milk and mix well. Then pour into the well and stir with a whisk slowly until it is all well combined.
Melt the butter and add 2 tablespoons of it to the mixture. Set the rest aside for cooking the pancakes.
Set the mixture aside in the fridge for a minimum of 20 minutes.
Remove from the fridge and test the consistency. It should be like pouring cream – if not, add a splash more milk.
Cook as above.
Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in the oven at 16°C until lightly toasted.
Remove, allow to cool, and, using a kitchen towel, rub off the brown skins.
Chop the nuts roughly and set them aside.
Sweeten the mascarpone with the icing sugar, stirring well, and then fold in the nuts and raspberries, squashing the berries slightly to release some crimson juice.
To assemble, spoon some mascarpone on one quarter of the pancake, fold the pancake in half and then quarters and devour. No plate required!
Recipe by Anna Savage.