Chef Thomas
A Proper Bacon Sandwich
Back bacon in a hot pan, good white bread, soft salted butter. Ten minutes between waking up and the first bite of something that makes the morning make sense.
Culinary Explorer
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Shrove Tuesday Pancakes
Created by Chef Thomas
Thin, lacy, rolled with caster sugar and a sharp squeeze of lemon. A February kitchen ritual that asks almost nothing of you and gives back more than it should.
Breakfast & Brunch
British
Weeknight
Holiday
10 min
Active Time
20 min cook•30 min total
Yield8 pancakes (serves 4)
February. The kitchen is cold at the edges and the windows are dark by five. Shrove Tuesday arrives quietly, the way it always does, somewhere between the last of winter and the first suggestion that it might end. And the whole house smells of butter in a hot pan.
These are not American pancakes. I should say that plainly, because the word means different things on different sides of the Atlantic. These are thin, lacy, slightly crisp at the edges, soft in the middle, rolled up with caster sugar and lemon juice and eaten standing at the counter or passed across the table one at a time, still warm from the pan. They take ten minutes to make and about thirty seconds to eat, which is roughly the right ratio for something this good.
I've made them every Shrove Tuesday for as long as I can remember, and most of the Wednesdays and Thursdays that follow, because once the batter is in your head there's no good reason to stop. The recipe is in the notebook, though I don't need to look at it any more. Flour, eggs, milk, butter. A pinch of salt. A lemon. That's the whole of it.
There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate in front of someone, and a pancake handed over fresh from the pan, sugar already melting into it, is one of the most direct forms of that pleasure I know. Your kitchen, your rules. But lemon and sugar is the classic for a reason, and I'd start there before wandering off into Nutella or golden syrup.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
plain flour
Quantity
125g
large eggs
Quantity
2
whole milk
Quantity
300ml
unsalted butter
Quantity
small knob
melted, plus extra for the pan
fine sea salt
Quantity
pinch
caster sugar
Quantity
for serving
lemons
Quantity
2
halved, for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| plain flour | 125g |
| large eggs | 2 |
| whole milk | 300ml |
| unsalted buttermelted, plus extra for the pan | small knob |
| fine sea salt | pinch |
| caster sugar | for serving |
| lemonshalved, for serving | 2 |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy flat frying pan, about 20cm across
- •Mixing bowl and whisk
- •Ladle
- •Palette knife or fish slice
Instructions
- 1
Make the batter
Tip the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack in the eggs and pour in a splash of the milk. Whisk from the middle outwards, pulling the flour in gradually from the edges. It will look lumpy and unpromising for a moment. Keep going. Add the rest of the milk slowly, whisking until you have a batter about the consistency of single cream: thin enough to run freely across the pan, thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir in the melted butter. Let it sit for twenty minutes if you can, half an hour if you have the patience. The resting makes the pancakes tender rather than chewy.
If lumps persist, pour the batter through a sieve. No shame in it. But a few small lumps will cook out and bother nobody. - 2
Heat the pan
Set a frying pan, not non-stick if you can help it, over a medium-high heat. A heavy, flat pan about 20cm across is ideal. Add a small piece of butter and swirl it around. When it foams and the foam subsides, the pan is ready. Too cool and the batter won't set quickly enough. Too hot and the first pancake burns before you can tilt the pan. The butter is your thermometer: when it sizzles on contact but doesn't brown instantly, you're there.
- 3
Cook the pancakes
Pour a small ladleful of batter into the centre of the pan, then immediately tilt and swirl so it spreads into a thin, even circle. It should cover the base in a single layer, no thicker than a coin. Cook for about a minute, until the underside is golden and lacy and the edges have started to curl away from the pan. Flip it. A palette knife helps, or toss it if you're feeling brave and the children are watching. Give the second side thirty seconds or so, just enough to freckle it with golden spots. Slide it onto a warm plate.
The first pancake is a sacrifice. It always is. The pan isn't seasoned yet, the heat isn't quite right, and you haven't found your rhythm. Eat it standing up at the hob and pretend it never happened. - 4
Serve with lemon and sugar
Work through the batter, adding a whisper of butter to the pan between each pancake. Stack them on a warm plate as you go, or hand them out one at a time, which is the better way. Sprinkle each pancake with caster sugar, a generous amount, then squeeze over half a lemon and roll it up. Eat immediately. The sugar melts into the hot pancake, the lemon cuts through the sweetness, and for about forty-five seconds nothing else in the world matters very much.
Chef Tips
- •The batter should be thin. Thinner than you think. If it sits in the pan like a pool rather than running across it in a single swirl, it's too thick. Add a splash more milk and try again. You're not making a crumpet.
- •Rest the batter if you have time. Twenty minutes changes the texture from springy to tender. The flour hydrates, the gluten relaxes, and the pancakes become supple rather than chewy. If you can't wait, they'll still be good. Just not quite as good.
- •A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. If you want to add a tablespoon of melted butter to the batter, do. If you want a pinch of vanilla or a grating of lemon zest stirred through, do that too. The batter is forgiving and will carry whatever you give it.
- •Keep them warm in a low oven if you're making a stack, layered between sheets of greaseproof paper. But the best way is to cook and serve them one at a time, straight from the pan to the plate. A pancake that waits is never quite the same as one that doesn't.
Advance Preparation
- •The batter can be made several hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Give it a good stir before using, as it will thicken as it sits. Add a splash of milk if needed to bring it back to pouring consistency.
- •Cooked pancakes can be stacked between sheets of greaseproof paper, wrapped in foil, and refrigerated for a day or frozen for up to a month. Reheat in a dry pan for thirty seconds each side. They won't be quite as good as fresh, but they'll be good enough for a Tuesday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 140g)
Calories
275 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
4 g
Cholesterol
115 mg
Sodium
165 mg
Total Carbohydrates
37 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
13 g
Protein
9 g
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