Pancake day is drawing near, traditionally the day to use up the ingredients in your cupboard but more recently, it’s become a day to pamper yourself by having breakfast for dinner. Pancake day means different things to different people. To some, it’s a religious holiday to celebrate the beginning of lent, when Jesus took a 40-day journey across the dessert with no food or water, but it has been adopted by others as an annual feast. However you perceive pancake day, you can always find a way to spice up your recipes and bring some extra excitement to your meal. Here are some tried and tested recipes
Basic Pancakes
Perfect Pancakes:
- Add a pinch of salt and 100 grams of plain flour into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and crack 2 eggs into the center. Pour up to 300ml of milk into the mixture until you have the right consistency to give you thin and crispy pancakes you can customise to your liking! Extra baking powder or using self-raising sugar can give you thicker, fluffier, American style pancakes so make them to your liking!
Easy Vegan Pancakes:
- Mix 300 grams of self-raising flour, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract. Slowly add 400ml of the plant-based milk of your choosing until your batter is smooth and thick and use vegetable oil on your pan before cooking to enjoy a tasty, eggless pancake! More milk may be necessary as the mixture is quite thick but this depends on how thick you want your pancakes to be!
Chocolate Pancakes
- For easy chocolate pancakes, just replace 10 grams of your chosen flour with cocoa powder. You can add more if you prefer a more intense chocolate flavor but make sure to always reduce the amount of flour or your mixture will be too thick!
Sweet Toppings
Lemon Drizzle Pancakes
- To add some extra zest to your pancakes, add 1 zested lemon to your batter before baking. For toppings, whip 100ml of double cream with 2 tablespoons of icing sugar, then fold in 100 grams of lemon curd. Add the juice from your zested lemon and add the cream to the top of your pancake!
Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Simply add 150 grams of chocolate chips of your choice to your pancake batter. If your pancake batter is too thin, you may need to add chocolate chips while your pancake is cooking in the pan to prevent them from sinking to the bottom!
Blueberry Pancakes
- For American style blueberry pancakes, add 150 grams of blueberries into your pancake mixture before cooking. Serve with golden or maple syrup for an authentic American experience!
Banoffee Pancakes
- Slice one banana and top your pancake with vanilla ice cream, grated chocolate flakes and toffee sauce to create a pie themed breakfast!
Savoury Options
Bacon and Eggs
- Turn your pancakes into a protein-filled breakfast by adding mash potatoes to your pancake batter and pairing it with bacon and eggs!
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese
- Why not make a giant canape? Spread cream cheese across your pancake and add smoked salmon, then sprinkle dill and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to add a fancy twist to your pancake day!
Bacon and Maple Syrup
- For the classic American sweet and savoury combo, add crispy bacon and maple syrup to the top of your pancakes. You can also chop up your bacon and add it to the batter so you get bacon in every bite!
I hope you enjoy trying these recipes with your friends and family on pancake day!
By Izzy Bunting
Photo courtesy of Unsplash