Shrove Tuesday

[Ishbel]

Traditionally, in the UK, the last Tuesday before Lent starts on Ash Wednesday is known as Shrove Tuesday or PANCAKE DAY! There are pancake day races etc in different towns and villages. Here's some photographs http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Album/PancakeRace.htm

BUT, all children want pancakes on Pancake day. I make plain ones with lemon and sugar and also banana and toffee sauce ones.

I'm not sure if this is a tradition anywhere else, but if so..... what's your favourite pancake filling (pudding type ones of course!)

 

[texasgirl]

Don't have pancake day. Wish we did!!
You have pudding filling for them? What is the toffee sauce?
Come on Ishbel, share. These sound like heaven!!

 

[Constance]

The race looks like great fun, Ish!

On Food Network, I've seen pancake races held at various festivals in small communities around the USA. It must be a custom that started with you all. I don't know of them being connected with Shrove Tuesday, though.

Here a lot of folks think of Shrove Tuesday as "Fat Tuesday", and people tend to celebrate Marti Gras Style...whether it's part of their religion or not.
Americans tend to pick up customs that are fun, and being the melting pot that we are, we have a lot to choose from!

 

[Robo410]

lots of churches have pancake suppers on shrove tuesday (Mardi Gras, fat tuesday) But American tradition is butter and maple syrup. We also serve sausages etc .

 

[urmaniac13]

we did a pancake cookout on Lucilla's birthday, a familiar scenery took place though it was the neighbour's dog who got the treat instead of pigeons...

Izzy, this is a bit different from the pancakes that is made from self raising flour... more like crepes... is there a special recipe for them?

 

[Ishbel]

Urmaniac: This is a basic pancake batter that I use - slightly thinner than that for Yorkshire pudding.

8oz plain flour
2 medium eggs
17fl oz milk (approx 500 ml)


Sieve the flour and make a well in the centre, beat in the eggs. Beat in the milk a little at a time until the batter has the consistency of single cream. Leave to stand for at least half an hour before making the pancakes.

Spoon a ladleful of mixture into crepe pan or a small frying pan, which you've oiled lightly with butter. When the pancakes are done on one side, we 'toss' them (my children often ended up with them sticking to the kitchen ceiling, through overzealous 'tossing'!) Traditionally, they are served with just freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice and a sprinkling of sugar and then rolled up into cigar-shaped cylinders.

To make the banana and toffee filling.

250g bar of good quality butter toffee (broken up if in a block). I use MacGowan's Scottish toffee
3 tbsp milk
1-2 bananas per person
Put the toffee and 3 tbsp milk in a heavy pan. Stir consistently over a low heat until the toffee has melted and the sauce is smooth. It doesn't have to boil but should be nice and hot.

Fry the pancakes. When bubbles appear (after about 1-1½ minutes) toss or turn the pancake. Stack them up and keep them warm while you cook the rest.

Place slices of banana down the middle of each pancake and pour over a generous amount of toffee sauce. Fold over each side of the pancake into the middle. Decorate with more slices of banana and an extra portion of toffee sauce

 

[mish]

Ishbel, that looks like fun. I've heard of egg races, but no pancake races, here. Not sure if you mean pancake or crepe fillings, but there are two restaurants here that come to mind. Neither have pudding fillings, but just about every filling you can think of under the sun.

For the crepes, a restaurant I went to long ago was called the Magic Pan in Beverly Hills...they were all over the place. You name it, and they could wrap it up in a crepe. For the pancakes, there is a chain of restaurants called IHOP (International House of Pancakes). They run promos from time to time with yummy fillings - like caramel toppings on waffles (with bananas etc.), french toast and pancakes. They have several fruit syrups. The possibilities are endless as to what you can put in the crepes/pancakes - anything from seafood to dessert.

I recall seeing/hearing about a place in New York City, where the crepe/waffle is shaped like a cone, and you can choose any filling, (ice cream etc.) and take it to go (eat and walk). Somewhere, hope I can locate it, had a recipe (from I think Wolfgang) for Chinese pancakes. Here is the recent promo for Cinn-a-stacks http://www.ihop.com/indexnatl.html

Thanks for sharing the link.

 

[Ishbel]

British pancakes are more like French crepes than the thicker American style - which are more like what we Scots call drop scones and the English call 'Scotch Pancakes' - just to confuse the matter even more!

I do occasionally make savoury pancakes - but the tradition behind Shrove Tuesday was to use up eggs and lemons and sugar before the hard time of Lent....

 

[mish]

..... what's your favourite pancake filling (pudding type ones of course!)

Thanks Ishbel. Never had a pudding filling in either a crepe or pancake, but the fillings I mentioned are some of my favorite pancake fillings

 

[urmaniac13]

The banana and toffee filling sounds so delicious... we can get Werther's Original, the flavour would be right on but it is a hard candy not a chewy type... do you think it would melt fine?

 

[Ishbel]

Not too sure about the melting point of those sugary sweets, Urmaniac. Scottish toffee is a creamier thing altogether. But try it and see....

 

[mish]

The banana and toffee filling sounds so delicious... we can get Werther's Original, the flavour would be right on but it is a hard candy not a chewy type... do you think it would melt fine?

There's always Nutella

 

[Brooksy]

Izzy
Try: Brown sugar, cream & butter in a pan over low heat. Cook until slightly thickened. Add the sliced 'nana and cook for a short time and pour over the pancakes.

Or lightly brown the butter before adding the brown sugar & cream. Two different flavours, but worth a try.

 

[Brooksy]

There's always Nutella

And a big dollop of ice cream on top....

 

[mish]

And a big dollop of ice cream on top....

Absolutely, Brooksy And nuts too!

 

[auntdot]

Yes, Ishbel, and I have heard about pancake days, and know there are many who do this.

Our pancakes are usually make with a leavening agent.

We call the other stuff crepes, and I love to make them.

And panckes are really great with lots of butter, real maple syrup, and crumbled bacon on top.

Or strips of crispy bacon on the side.

Nothing better.

 

[Brooksy]

....And panckes are really great with lots of butter, real maple syrup, and crumbled bacon on top.

Or strips of crispy bacon on the side.

Nothing better.

You gotta be from Canada Auntdot.... We've heard about you lot.

The major problem I've got is that I cannot get REAL Maple syrup anywhere...

Last time I was in the Big Smoke I couldn't find it. Very disappointing.

Is there some way of making a substitute?

 

[Constance]

Ishbel, when my kids were little, I used sourdough, and made my pancakes from scratch. Now, I generally use Biscuick for my pancakes, but I make the batter thin enough so that the little rounds are somewhere in between a crepe and a pancake. They are flexible enough that you can wrap the pancake around one of the little sweet smokey links that I love to serve with them.

When my grandson was doing morning football practice in the summer, he'd bring a bunch of buddies home for breakfast afterwards. Pancakes and French Toast were faves. One day, I didn't have any breakfast sausage or bacon, and I sliced and fried up some of my husbands Venison salami...they loved it.

I miss that...but the boy ran away from home, dropped out of high school and is now in a treatment center for meth addiction.

 

[Ishbel]

Constance
What's bisquick?

 

[Alix]

Ishbel, Bisquick is a ready made biscuit/pancake mix.
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...um=10&hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2004-50,GGLD:en