Pancake day

Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Pancake Day. What do you call it?

Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day, is the traditional feast day before the fasting period of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent – the 40 days leading up to Easter – was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Christians would go church to be shriven (absolved from their sins).

Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year and falls between February 3 and March 9. In 2023 Shrove Tuesday will fall on February 21st. The Sundays never count as fasting days, hence why 40 days are 47 days long.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats that you had at home, along with any other indulgent foods, and pancakes are the perfect food for these ingredients.

A pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan. You can have english pancakes, french crépes, american pancakes or scotch pancakes. Traditional English pancakes are a little thicker than the French ones, whereas American and scotch pancakes are much thicker and fluffier. Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes. Although I am more likely to go with bacon and maple syrup.

In order to make pancakes, I use plain flour, milk, egg and butter for frying them.

To make 12 pancakes, I use 600mls milk, 224g plain flour and 2 eggs.

If you have these 3 ingredients, then 12 will cost you about £1.16. Cheaper than the shaker bottle mixes that are available.

Categories: Recipes