Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Day, is a day of feasting and festivities that takes place the day before Ash Wednesday – the start of the Lent.
The origins of Shrove Tuesday date back to medieval times, when it was customary to use up all the rich ingredients in your pantry before the start of Lent. Pancakes were a popular choice because they were quick and easy to make, and used up ingredients such as eggs, butter, and sugar. These days, Shrove Tuesday is celebrated all over the world, and many people enjoy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, whipping up as many pancakes as they can eat.
To this day, a good number of retirement villages across the country incorporate Pancake Day into their activities calendar. It is a day village Chef’s tend to dread with the pressure of making a large numbers of yummy pancakes in a very short period of time.
Anyways, we’ve been lucky enough to get a family recipe from a retirement village in south western Sydney for you to try out on Tuesday 21 February.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Non-stick cooking spray or additional melted butter for greasing the pan
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- In another bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined (the batter will be lumpy). Don’t overmix, as this will result in tough pancakes.
- Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Grease the pan with cooking spray or melted butter.
- Pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake onto the hot pan. Cook until small bubbles form on the surface of the pancake, about 2-3 minutes.
- Flip the pancake and cook until the other side is lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes more.
- Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more cooking spray or butter as needed.
- Serve the pancakes hot with your favourite toppings, such as butter, syrup, fruit, or whipped cream.
Enjoy your delicious pancakes! If you’re feeling creative, why add all sorts of toppings, from syrup and fruit to chocolate chips and bacon.