Tuesday 9 February 2016

Pancake Day

Today is Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Day as it's known in our house. We don't need a special day to eat pancakes though, we enjoy them throughout the year, though we don't eat them as much nowadays as when Daniel and Eleanor were little. I always used to make them when they had friends over for sleepovers, it was a bit of a treat at supper time and I was always surprised when some of their friends told me that they'd never tried them before, or that they rarely had them.

Eleanor's favourite treat when we visit the German Christmas market in Leeds are mini pancakes with strawberries, drizzled in strawberry sauce. Just before Christmas, she visited the market with her boyfriend and was dismayed to find that the pancake stall wasn't there this year. This gave me a really good idea for a Christmas present, I thought I'd buy her a mini pancake pan so that she could make them herself at home. Whilst I was looking for one, I came across an electric poffertjes maker and decided to buy her that instead.


Poffertjes are Dutch pancakes but unlike the ones we make here, they have yeast added to the recipe to make them rise, though the recipe we've been using incorporates baking powder instead for speed. It makes them quite fluffy.

The poffertjes maker has fourteen small indentations for the batter.


The recipe we've been using consists of flour, baking powder, caster sugar, salt, milk, water and eggs but there's lots of variations to try out to find the one you prefer.


This was Eleanor's brunch on Sunday. She may have had second helpings but I'm not going to tell on her.


I'm sure you can imagine, this Christmas present was a huge hit. Perhaps it will be put in to use when Eleanor gets home from school tonight, it is Pancake Day afterall.

44 comments:

  1. We have just had some for lunch - pancakes that is with lemon juice and sugar. Timeless favourite.

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    1. I must admit that I love lemon juice and sugar on normal, thin pancakes. Golden syrup is delicious on this kind though.

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  2. I'm not a gadget person but that looks quite a appealing. I'm just trying to think if you could utilise it for anything else. Id it had more than one use it would definitely be more appealing!

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    1. I'm not really one for gadgets either but I know this will get plenty of use. We've only used it for this type of pancake so far but I can't see why it couldn't be used for other types of pancakes too, afterall, it's really just a hotplate with indentations.

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  3. That pan is so cute. I've seen those before but haven't ever had one of my own. I usually cook pancakes on a griddle but they are made with thin batter so maybe it's different from the kind you'd make in the pan? I know pancakes are different in different places. I think they look delicious with the strawberries, I'll try that next time I make some.

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    1. We usually make thin pancakes in a frying pan and the better is different to this but I suppose you could use the thin batter in this too. We'll have to give it a try. Eleanor loves these pancakes with strawberries and strawberry sauce but I think they're lovely with golden syrup.

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  4. They sound, and look, rather good. I like traditional thin pancakes with lemon juice and sugar.
    Enjoy yours tonight. Flighty xx

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    1. I like traditional thin pancakes with lemon and sugar too, I don't think it can be beaten. These ones are good with golden syrup but, of course, they're then very sweet.

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  5. What a wonderful gift! And those pancakes look delicious. Shrove Tuesday is "Pancake Tuesday" at our kids school and everyone gets a special pancake & fruit lunch - they are always so excited about it.

    It's been years since I've made mini pancakes - you've inspired me to serve them up this weekend (although I'll have to use my regular griddle!).

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    1. Eleanor was thrilled when she opened it on Christmas morning, she had no idea it was coming. How lovely that the school acknowledges Pancake Tuesday, I don't remember that happening when I went to school. Enjoy your pancakes this weekend.

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  6. That looks wonderful, I'd never heard of Poffertjes before, but it sure looks good.

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    1. I'd never heard of poffertjes either until I started looking for a mini pancake maker, I'm glad I did though, they're so good. I suppose you can put whatever toppings you want on them, Eleanor favours strawberries and strawberry sauce, I like them with Golden Syrup.

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  7. These look delicious. We make the thin big pancakes on pancake day. I am terrible at making them and usually leave it to Richard. I might have mine savoury with cheese and bacon... Happy pancake day.

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    1. I'm chief pancake maker in our house, Mick's usually end up in a scrambled mess. I always have the thin ones with lemon and sugar but I like the thicker american style pancakes spread with butter and with bacon. Yum yum.

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  8. We love pancakes, ice cream and syrup.

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    1. I've never had pancakes with ice cream, actually I'm not a lover of it, but I do like these pancakes with syrup.

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  9. Replies
    1. That's definitely the word for them, they are.

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  10. That looks like an interesting gadget and I like the sound of your mini pancakes. When I was teaching we had a pancake day assembly and all the teachers had to toss a pancake. I was last to toss after everyone else has been successful so the pressure was on - thankkfully I caught mine too.

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    1. That's a lot of pressure, especially in front of a hall full of kids, they can be brutal. I'm champion pancake tosser in our house, of course, you don't have to toss these mini ones.

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  11. Eleanor's pancakes look delicious!! Hope that you enjoy yours tonight!! xx

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    1. They really are delicious. I'd like to try them with different toppings now.

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  12. Oh, they look so delicious! I can't have normal pancakes, so I really need to find a "free-from" recipe as I'm getting jealous of everyone's delicious pancakes :)

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    1. That's such a shame. There's lots of different recipes out there these days with certain ingredients missing so I'm sure you'll find something suitable, it's just a case of finding a recipe you like.

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  13. They look yum, I'm not overly keen on pancakes but I did make some for Harry this morning xx

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    1. They are yum. I hope Harry enjoyed his pancakes.

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  14. I'd forgotten it was Pancake day until Amy posted about it. Hubby is not much of a lover of these, but when I was a child we had them often with lemon and sugar. Of course here in Oz, most backyards back then sported a lemon tree. Mine here is very small and hasn't so far produced much and the lemons are quite bitter. My favourite are Meyer lemons. The little electrical gadget looks fascinating. Never seen one before, but then we are always behind in that sort of thing. Take care.

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    1. How lovely to be able to pick your own lemons, I think it makes things a little extra special when you've grown something yourself. The poffertjes maker really is a hit with Eleanor, it's had plenty of use already and I'm sure it will get lots more.

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  15. Those look delicious, Jo. I think I'd have gone back for second helpings too! :oD

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    1. I'd like to experiment with some different toppings now. I usually have lemon and sugar with normal thin pancakes but I'm quite happy to add other things to these.

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  16. These look very yummy! I bet they were delicious.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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    1. Absolutely. I'm really pleased that I came across the gadget, it's been a huge hit.

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  17. What an excellent find, something which will be used again and again I'm sure. They look delicious and with fruit as well they must be considered a health food I'm sure!
    Lisa x

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    1. I was originally looking for a pan with small indentations to use on the hob but when I came across this I thought it was a great idea. Eleanor's very happy with it and I'm sure it will get used a lot. Ha ha, it's definitely health food if fruit's added to it.

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  18. I didn't have time for pancake making yesterday :(. We are going to have them tonight instead! Your wee fluffy pancakes look lovely :) not suprised second helpings were had.

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    1. We often ran out of time on the actual day when the kids were little, they always had so much going on, but they didn't mind having them a day late, I'm sure your children will enjoy them just as much today.

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  19. That looks a great kitchen gadget!

    I do agree there are many great recipe ideas for Pancakes and you can amend them to suit your needs.

    My Dear Mum always used to serve ours with lemon, but I now usually use fresh fruit ... quite Yum!

    All the best Jan

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    1. Eleanor certainly liked her Christmas present. I've been talking to my dad about Shrove Tuesday today, he said he always had his pancakes with vinegar and sugar when he was a boy because you couldn't get lemons at that time. There's so many great pancake recipes, I like golden syrup and blueberries as well as many others.

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  20. The Danes have Aebleskiver at Christmas time, and that's made in a pan like this. In fact... I'm sure I bought one for Christmas this year and put it somewhere safe. I'm off to look for it!

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    1. Yes, I'd thought of trying aebleskiver in this, as well as normal pancakes, just to see how they come out. I'm sure it would work as it's really just a hotplate with indentations. Good luck in your search, hope you find it.

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  21. Pancakes go down well here too. What a cool gadget you've got there. I usually make a thick batter to make smaller, thicker pancakes so I can get four or five on the go at once. My kids are too impatient to wait for normal thin ones! I'm sure aebleskiver would work well in your machine too. xx

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    1. We like thick pancakes too, I like mine with either blueberries or butter and bacon. I'm definitely going to give aebleskiver a go as well as normal thin ones in the machine.

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  22. What a great pancake maker, and a super gift for your daughter. Those pancakes look delicious!
    Caz xx

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    1. Eleanor thought it was a great gift and it's being put to use, she uses it often. The pancakes are delicious and it's great that you can customise them to your own taste.

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