Shrove Tuesday calls for Pancakes!

By: Jason Eaton, P.H.Ec. 

So it's Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or better yet Pancake Tuesday and in keeping with the day I made a couple batches of pancakes.  You could go out and pick a box of Aunt Jemima up at the store but pancakes are so simple to make from scratch.  Here is my favourite pancake recipe I learned in kindergarten class and has been my go to recipe ever since. ​

Ingredients:

1 egg
1 1/4 cup (300 mL) milk
1 1/4 cup (300 mL) flour
1 tbsp (15 mL) sugar
2 tbsp (30 mL) oil
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder

Method:
​
Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Whisk until evenly blended and you’re done.  It's that easy.  This recipe should yield around 8 dollar sized pancakes or 3 ginormous, almost fill the whole fry pan, sized pancakes.  Simply double or triple the batch to double or triple the yield.

I like to fry my pancakes in a well buttered frying pan.  Margarine will not do as the melted butter adds to the taste of the finished product.  The pancakes will start to bubble.  The outer edges will start to pop first and you might be tempted to flip the pancake.  Do not flip, wait for a few bubbles towards the center of the pancake to form and pop before you give it a flip.

Now the other side is a little harder to judge but if you make your pancakes slightly thicker you will see the batter cooking at the edge of the pancake.  The crispy toasted-ness shown above was the desired finish I was trying to achieve and also recommend.  

I topped the finished pancake with a sliver or two of butter and then drowned the pancake in real maple syrup = yum, yum.  The best thing about this recipe is the versatility it offers.  Want chocolate chip pancakes?  Toss some chocolate chips on top of the batter after you pour it into the frying pan.  Want buttermilk pancakes?  Substitute butter milk rather than regular milk.  Want blueberry pancakes?  Add blue berries directly into the batter.  The possibilities are endless.  Happy Fat Tuesday, after 3 of these buttery pancakes I felt slightly heavier.



​