English pancakes, or Shrove Tuesday

I sent this to an American I know from Twitter who wanted the recipe for English pancakes -- shortly after March 8 - Shrove Tuesday.

I don't have my mother's recipe in London, so I use a recipe from a Gary Rhodes cookbook my sister gave me a few years ago titled "New British Classics".

My mother is English and my father Canadian. They met in London and then moved back and forth between the UK and Canada several times as well as the United States.

My mother started a tradition of serving my sister and me English pancakes when we were children, but later in life hated making them.

She would often not tell us when it was Pancake Day, so she wouldn't be coaxed into making them.

She much prefers to make Canadian pancakes, which are far simpler.

Although the Rhodes recipe below does not specify, I have always eaten English pancakes, which are like crepes, with white granulated sugar and either freshly squeezed lemon juice or orange juice. 

I have always preferred orange juice to lemon as I find it too sour.

My mother taught us to sprinkle sugar over the pancake, then drizzle juice over it, roll it up and sprinkle a bit more sugar and juice on top.

These are tedious to make as you have to put the batter on the pan and then tilt it around to ensure the batter spreads out thinly on the pan.

After pouring the batter, I wait for until the edges are cooked through and peeling away a bit from the pan. Then I shake the pan so the pancake loosens. Once it is getting cooked through I flip the pancake on the pan rather than using a spatula to turn it.

For maximum efficiency and to cook these up as quickly as possible, I would recommend using two frying pans. Otherwise it seems to take forever standing at the stove.

I hope you enjoy these if you make them.

Gary Rhodes
New British Classics

Home-made Pancakes

Pancakes were among the very early enriched breads cooked on the griddle and have become one of our favourite breakfast and afternoon tea foods. They have a long-standing yearly association with Shrove Tuesday, otherwise known as Pancake Day, which is when all the eggs must be used up before Lent.

Pancakes are a Sunday treat in our house, with my sons and me whisking away making the batter.

And then I cook the pancakes, while they eat them: I'm making a mistake somewhere! But they are so easy to make and with a dribbling of golden syrup, just delicious. They could also be served with honey, jam or ice cream. In a savoury sense, they can be filled with ratatouille, fish stew, mussels, chicken and so on.

This quantity will make 16-24 pancakes, depending on the size of pan used. It is best to use a 20 cm (8 in) or 15 cm (6 in) frying pan.

- 225 g (8 oz) plain flour (all purpose in North America)
- Pinch of salt
- 2 eggs
- 600 ml (1 pint) milk
- 50 g (2 oz) unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil, for frying

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Whisk the eggs and the milk into the flour. Add the melted butter and whisk into the mix. At this stage, the mix can be used for sweet or savoury pancakes.

For a stronger savoury flavour, chopped fresh parsley or mixed herbs can also be added.

To cook the pancakes, pre-heat the frying pan. Lightly oil the pan and pour in some the mixture, making sure the pan has only a thin layer of mix by tilting and rotating the pan to make the batter spread out.

Cook for 30-40 seconds, until golden brown. Turn the pancake over and cook for a further 20-30 seconds.

The pancake is now cooked. Keep warm between squares of greaseproof paper, while you cook the remainder. Two or three pancakes per portion should be plenty.

If made well in advance, the pancakes can be microwaved for 30-40 seconds to re-heat.