Are you curious to try some of Lorraine Aspill’s pancake recipes after her appearance on the Ray D’Arcy Show on RTE Radio One yesterday?

Here are 4 of her recipes for Gluten-free, Vegan, Traditional and American Pancakes

The gluten free pancake.

300gms of gluten free flour ( I use  GF self raising)

1 ½ tsp gluten free baking powder

3 eggs,

1tbs caster sugar   (optional)

1.5 pints milk.

25gms melted, cooled butter.

 

Sieve flour into bowl and add all dry ingredients, stir to combine.

Make a well in the centre,

Add eggs and half the milk and start draw  the flour into the mix using a whisk, continue to mix adding the remainder of the milk, whisking all the time, finally adding the cooled melted butter.

Allow to stand for at least 30 minutes,  

Now when using gluten free flour , it tends to thicken a lot when liquid is added, if you want a light thin pancake, you may need to add more milk after you have let the mixture stand.

Heat pan rub with a little oil and pour your pancake on, cook till the bubbles appear and flip, cook for one minute, start you stack, add you favourite toppings and enjoy.

 

The vegan pancake.

 

300gms of self raising flour

1tbs caster sugar    (optional)

2 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

300a mls approx. of water,   (now you can split this with and use half water and half of a non dairy milk,, I use coconut milk.) The mixture will remain a little lumpy.

I usually add a  little  oil(a teaspoon)  to the batter before starting to cook.

A little oil for cooking.

Place all the dry ingredients into a bowl and start adding the liquid whisking all the time, until a smooth batter is achieved.

Leave to stand for approx. 30mins before cooking.

Heat pan and pour on a the batter, cook until the bubbles appear and flip, cook for a minute and start your stack.

 

The traditional pancake.

My grandmother always made the pancake batter the night before Shrove Tuesday, and it was a yearly ritual, she had a  bowl that was only used for this and also a special cup that was used to measure the pancake and pour it onto the pan. The batter was mixed and covered with a muslin cloth and placed in the metal box in the kitchen dresser.

The excitement the next morning waiting on the pancakes, the first one was for the fairies, after that it was game on.  The pancake bowel was placed on a trivet beside the cooker and a pot of simmering was place on the back burner, with a plate on top of it, as the pancakes were cooked and rolled they were placed on the plate and another plate covering them,  the early microwave.

 

400gms of  self raising flour

Pinch of salt

4 eggs

1.5 pints of milk

50gms of caster sugar   (optional)  I use this only if making all sweet pancakes.

50gms melted cooled butter.

 

Sieve the flour and salt into the mixing bowl and make a well in the centre, add the eggs and some milk and start to draw in the flour using a whisk,  continue to add  the milk gradually until a nice smooth batter is achieved.

Leave to stand for approx. an hour or overnight if possible.

Heat your pan, I like to just wipe the inside of the pan with a piece of kitchen roll that has been dipped in oil or melted butter, pour on your measure of batter and cook until the bubbles appear, flip  (the best part) and cook on the other side,  stack and keep in  the oven on a low heat.

 

The toppings are endless;

The oldies  like lemon juice and sugar,

                              Raspberry jam

                              Golden syrup  or Honey

                              Chocolate spread  

                              Chocolate spread with sliced banana or sliced strawberry

                               Peanut butter with sliced banana

                              Caramelised  banana

                               Caramelised oranges

                                Strawberries marinated in brandy overnight, 

                                Strawberries drizzled with elderflower cordial

                                Fresh fruit and cream

                                Blueberries and lemon

                                Bacon and maple syrup

                                Poached eggs and hollandaise sauce

                                 Smoked salmon and a squeeze of lemon,

The list of topping is endless, what ever you fancy, there are no rules.

                                

American pancakes.

 

This batter is usually a thicker batter and cooked smaller in size, although thicker than our traditional pancake, and usually served stacked four or five high with the topping on top, dripping down.

 

The recipe;

400gms of self raising flour

1.5 tsp of baking powder

1tbs of caster sugar  (optional)   again I only use this if I am cooking all sweet pancakes.

3 eggs

25gms of  melted butter 

200mls of butter milk..

A little oil for frying.

 

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, sieving the flour in.

 Make a well in the centre and add the eggs cooled melted butter and some of the milk.

Whisk to make a thickish batter gradually add the remaining milk, to produce a smooth thick batter.

Pour small rounds of batter onto the pan, approx. 8cm wide.

Cook on one side until the bubbles start to appear, flip and cook on the other side for approx. a minute.

Serve stacked with your favourite topping.

 

The world of pancakes.

“Flat as a pancake” is a catchphrase, that according to the Oxford English Dictionary has been in use since 1611. A term used to describe a lady with little or no cleavage.

The humble pancake is centuries old, indeed there is evidence to suggest that the pancake or a distant relative of it, existed as far back as the Neolithic period, remains of which were discovered in the digestive tract of Otzi, the Neolithic man found in the Italian Alps in 1991.

The ancient Romans and Greeks enjoyed pancakes, sweetened with Honey.

The Elizabethans ate their pancakes flavoured with spices and sugars from the ‘New World’, they also flavoured them with Rosewater, Sherry and Apples.

The early American Colonists made their pancakes or “hoecakes”, “johnnycakes” or “flapjacks” from Indian cornmeal (yellow in colour).

Moving along to ‘ Shrove Tuesday’ a day to repent, confess and to use all the ‘good’ foods up before the 40 days of lean meals, and fasting began on Ash Wednesday.

This is where we get the tradition of pancakes.

Pancakes were eaten to use all the milk, butter, eggs and of course flour , any ‘goodfood’ before the festival of LENT began.

Several superstitions customs accompany the making and eating of pancakes and some are still with us today.

#The first 3 pancakes made were considered sacred and marked with the sign of the cross and sprinkled with salt to ward of evil, and kept.is this the origins of the hot cross bun? Another story perhaps.

#In Ireland, the girls were given the afternoon of shrove Tuesday off, to prepare their pancake batter, the eldest unmarried would toss the first pancake, if successful, she would be married within the year.

#Holly kept from the previous Christmas was burned to heat the pan for the first pancake, again believed to bring good luck/health.

#In Wales, the tradition around Shrove Tuesday, had people going door to door , begging for flour and butter , children would also kick cans up and down the streets, to commemorate the putting away pots and pans for the Lenten fast.

#In France the name Mardi Gras is used for Shrove Tuesday , although in recent years it has become known by its English translation ‘Fat Tuesday’.

Some pancake facts;

#The influence of French Cooking in the 18^th century brought about the pancake or ‘crepe’ as we know it now, before this the pancake was a small thick pan cooked cake.

#The first recipe for pancakes appeared in an English cookbook in the 15^th century.

#The biggest pancake ever made, was 15mts wide 2.5cm deep and contained 2 million calories.

#The most pancakes tossed in 2 minutes was 349 and achieved by Dean Gould in Suffolk in 1995.

An average of 2 pancakes per person are eaten on Shrove Tuesday by the Irish Nation.