We love Pancake Day. What other day gives you the excuse to start your day with a dessert? It's also the only day dedication to a break breakfast item. The fantastic news for our fellow fan-cakes of pancakes out there is that Shrove Tuesday (or Pancake Day) is just around the corner. London may be in lockdown, but that doesn't mean the fun can't continue at home – so we asked some of our favourite chefs to share their recipes for you to make at home.
Taking place on the day before Ash Wednesday, and the commencement of Lent, the tradition of consuming endless stacks of pancakes on this day originated because the decadent discs were seen as the most efficient way to use up rich foods like eggs, milk, and sugar before the beginning of the 40-day fast.
It doesn't matter whether you prefer your pancakes served straight from the pan, doused in lemon and sugar, or delivered in a thick stack of fluffy pucks – there's a pancake out there for everyone. This year, we've got a classic crêpe, a surprisingly simple Dutch baby, and some sweet Goan pancakes to get you started.
Wild by Tart's Dutch baby pancakes with mascarpone, raspberry compote and honeycomb
This pancake recipe from Lucy Carr-Ellison of Belgravia dining spot Wild by Tart looks good enough to eat
Makes 1
Preparation time 5
Cooking time 20
"Dutch baby pancakes are the perfect alternative to buttermilk pancakes if you want to create something different," says Wild by Tart co-founder Lucy Carr-Ellison. "We first tried them when we were working in New York but they’re actually very much like a Yorkshire pudding. We make one very large pancake and the whole family dives in – it's gone in minutes! Baking them in the oven with a heavy skillet makes them fluffy in the centre and crispy on the edges."
Ingredients
60g plain flour
2 eggs
120ml whole milk
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
30g butter, melted
Pinch of salt
150g raspberries
½ lemon
1 tsp icing sugar
To serve:
Icing sugar
3 tbsp mascarpone
Honeycomb chunks
Equipment:
A 26cm ovenproof heavy-based frying pan
Method
Heat the oven to 220°C.
Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and sugar with the melted butter.
Tip the flour into a bowl and make a well. Slowly pour in the egg mixture, whisking as you go, until all of the flour is incorporated and you have a smoother batter. Leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Place the raspberries in a pan over a medium heat, squeeze in half and lemon and add the icing sugar. The raspberries will start to collapse, bring to a simmer for 2 mins and take off the heat.
Place your pan over a very high heat till smoking, add the butter and swirl around the edges, immediately add your pancake mix and place in the oven for about 15 minutes till all puffed up and golden.
Remove from the oven and serve immediately. Dollop on the mascarpone and then spoon over the raspberries. Finish with a dusting of icing sugar, a drizzle of honey and some crumbled chunks of honeycomb.
Kricket's sweet alle belle Goan pancakes
Made with jaggery and coconut, this recipe for sweet Goan-style pancakes comes from Kricket's Will Bowlby
Makes 4
Preparation time 10 mins
Cooking time 10 mins
Will Bowlby of London favourite Kricket says, "There are hundreds of different pancakes across India. From sweet malpua to savoury dosa, I am constantly discovering new ones."
"This year I am making alle belle, which is a sweet pancake recipe from Goa and makes for the perfect afternoon treat. If you fancy going the extra mile, then garnish the pancakes with a dusting of icing sugar and some chopped pistachios."
Ingredients
80g plain flour
A pinch of salt
1 egg
150ml whole milk
A pinch of baking powder
A little ghee or clarified butter
For the filling:
6 pitted dates, finely chopped
50g fresh grated coconut. Desiccated coconut is a fine alternative, toasted to a light golden brown in a dry pan
50g Jaggery or dark muscovado sugar
1 cardamon pod, grounded to a powder
A small pinch of Maldon salt
Method
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, egg and baking powder. Slowly incorporate the milk until you have a thin batter consistency. Leave to one side whilst you make the filling.
Combine all the ingredients for the filling in a pan. Add a little splash of water to prevent the mixture from sticking.
Cook over a low heat until all the ingredients have come together and you have a nice thick sweet paste with no liquid - this should take about 10 minutes. Allow to cool and set aside.
To make the pancakes, heat up a little ghee or clarified butter in a non-stick frying pan over a low to medium heat.
Pour a ladle of the batter into the pan, and swirl around to allow the batter to spread into a thin pancake. You don’t particularly want any colour on the pancake itself, so keep the heat relatively low and flip the pancake after a couple of minutes or so.
Once flipped, add some of the stuffing into the middle of each pancake and remove from the pan onto a serving plate. Roll up the pancakes.
Repeat until you have used up all the batter and filling.
Le Deli Robuchon's crêpe recipe
The French crêpe is a classic for a reason, and who better to share a recipe than Le Deli Robuchon's head chef Dario Avenca?
CunninghamCaptures
Serves 4
Preparation time 60 mins
Cooking time 10 mins
Light, sweet and delicious, the French crêpe is a classic that's stood the test of time. And it's no surprise they're one of France's most famous exports.
When it comes to all things français, Le Deli Robuchon – the deli from Comptoir Robuchon in Mayfair – knows where it's at, making its head chef Dario Avenca to show us exactly how it's done.
Serve alongside a glass of wine for true sophistication. Or if you want your crêpe to be made by the professionals, mosey on down to Le Deli, where a crêpe trolley will make one for you. Salut!
Ingredients
1 litre whole milk
500g flour T55
10g salt
9 eggs
250g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
125g hazelnut butter
60g vegetable oil
300g water or milk
Method
To start, grate the vanilla pod into the milk. Gently cook the butter until it gets a light brown colour and strain it.
Heat the milk until lukewarm and incorporate hazelnut butter. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, eggs, sugar, salt and oil.
Once mixed, slowly pour in the heated milk and hazelnut butter, and keep stirring until you get a smooth mixture.
Rest your mixture for a minimum of one hour before use. Add water to create your perfect consistency. Once rested, cook in a frying pan.
