With hot cross buns already in the shops and mince pies undoubtedly just around the corner, plum pudding and pancakes are the only two delicacies I can think of that bring the country together for only one day a year. While some people argue that Christmas pudding is too “heavy,” I’ve yet to encounter someone who refuses a Shrove Tuesday delicacy, regardless of religious allegiance. Why we don’t do it at Easter or on beautiful September mornings is a mystery to me.

Pancakes are a marvelously adaptable food: French crêpes, Indian dosas, and even Ethiopian injera all come under the same delectable umbrella. “Any starchy batter… fried in a modest amount of grease on a flat surface,” adds Ken Albala, author of a magnificently exhaustive “global history” of the things. Modern pancakes in the United Kingdom, however, are evolved from those expressly meant to burn up fat before the start of Lent, which means they are heavier on the eggs and butter than, for example, the airy American stack or the squat Russian blini.

 

Pancakes from Elizabethan times 

 

The oldest recipe for pancakes as we know them comes from an English cookery book – the Good Huswifes Handmade for the Kitchen (1594 edition) – but it’s even richer than the modern version: a pint of “thicke Creame,” 5 egg yolks, “a good handful of flower,” and 2 or 3 tablespoons of ale, seasoned with copious amounts of sugar, cinnamon, and ginger.

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With these proportions, Albala informs me that “the outcome is a dreadful mess” (“one can only believe the creator was either negligent or had enormous hands”). Still, once I’ve added enough flour to make it a more usable consistency, I manage to build a pancake, kind of. It’s so meltingly rich that flipping it is nearly impossible: excellent, but more of a companion to some roasted peacock and a glass of sack than one for the modern kitchen.

 

Pancakes for Puritans 

 

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Gervase Markham’s 1615 recipe calls for two eggs, a “good amount of fire flowing water,” cloves, mace, cinnamon, and nutmeg, all whisked together, “which done make thick as you conceive food with fine wheat flower.” (No one can accuse these old-school culinary writers of being dictatorial.) Aside from the spice, they’re pretty boring; rubbery, and hefty. Although cream may be overkill, milk is essential.

Also read: Best Indian desserts to try at least once!

Butter in the batter? 

 

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Xanthe Clay, a Telegraph food writer, puts melted butter in her batter to compensate for any flavor loss caused by frying them in vegetable oil. Meanwhile, BBC Good Food adds a tablespoon of vegetable oil. The first produces a better-tasting pancake, but I like the nutty flavor of browned butter and the little crispness of a plainer batter (all the better as a foil for crunchy sugar and lemon juice). However, I follow Xanthe’s advice and use an additional yolk to give the pancakes a depth of flavor without the little hardness that egg white brings.

 

Should you stand or deliver? 

 

Resting batter, like soaking rice or washing mushrooms, is one of those notions I’ve always decided to dismiss out of laziness – after all, what busy, thrusting executive has time to create their pancake mix half an hour before they expect to eat? Gordon Ramsay argues there’s “no necessity,” but Nigel Slater and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall disagree, and the notion suddenly appears appealing (even if Nigel insists on calling them crêpes).

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I make two batches of batter and set one aside for 30 minutes while I prepare and consume the other. The first batch isn’t bad, but the second batch has a more uniform texture, according to Hugh, since the starch has had more time to absorb the liquid and the air bubbles have dispersed.

 

The warmth 

Although Hugh and Good Food magazine recommend cooking the pancakes over medium heat, I prefer to follow Professor Peter Barham, physicist, and Heston Blumenthal’s adviser, and get the pan hot because I like my pancakes thin and crisp – you can turn it down before cooking if you prefer a softer finish. Spread the batter as thinly as possible for exquisitely lacy edges – and approach the first pancake as an experiment; it generally fails, which is a good reason to treat it as a cook’s bonus.

 

“You might argue that the ideal crêpe is usually the first in the batch,” Nigel sensibly notes. This is the pancake that pleases the mouth if not the eye, wolfed hot and hissing from the pan, squirted with lemon and a thick covering of sugar.” 

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image credit: epicurious

Aside from the perk, they are also delicious wrapped around a creamy seafood filling, filled with spinach and ricotta, and gratinated – or smothered with whipped cream and chocolate sauce if you must. I’ve even heard it said that if you make them today evening as well as next Tuesday, the sky will not fall in… 

 

Pancakes to die for

125g plain flour 

Pinch of salt 

1 egg plus 1 egg yolk 

225ml whole or semi-skimmed milk 

Small knob of butter 

 

  1. Sift the flour into a large mixing basin and season with salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the egg and yolk. Mix the milk with 2 tablespoons of water, then add a little to the egg and whisk together. 

 

  1. Whisk the flour into the liquid components, gradually pulling it into the center, until you have a smooth paste with the consistency of double cream. Whisk in the remaining milk until the batter resembles single cream. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, covered.

 

  1. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat, barely enough to coat the bottom of the pan. It should be hot enough that when the batter hits it, it sizzles. 

 

  1. Quickly swirl a small ladleful of batter on the bottom of the pan to coat. Remove any excess. When it starts to firm, loosen the edges with a thin spatula or palette knife, and when the bottom starts to color, flip it over and cook for another 30 seconds. (If you’re feeling brazen, you may toss the pancake after loosening it by grasping the handle firmly with both hands and jerking the pan up and slightly towards you.)

 

  1. Pancakes are best eaten as quickly as possible before they get rubbery, but if you’re preparing for a crowd, pile them up between pieces of kitchen roll until ready to serve. 

 

Why don’t we eat more pancakes in this nation, and what recipes are excellent enough to persuade us? What are your go-to toppings, and do you have any tricks for perfect flipping?