Shrove Tuesday

I couldn't let pancake day come and go without a quick post on the matter. There was some debate over whether we should have traditional thin or Canadian-style thick pancakes last Tuesday. I'm definitely on the side of the thin pancake for pancake day - it wouldn't be the same without the tossing and the lemon and sugar! I had to strike a deal in order to have thin ones however, it was only on the condition that we also had thick ones at the weekend. Here are the thin ones...

I managed to eat 5 of them. Is that something to be proud of? I'm not sure! How did everyone else do??

'Thin' Batter (makes about 15)


250g plain flour


2 eggs


500ml milk


pinch salt

Sift the flour and salt, make a well in the center and gradually whisk in the eggs and milk until the batter is smooth. Allow to rest for half an hour or so before pouring.

For the thick Canadian-style pancakes we ate this morning, I used a very special and very detailed recipe that is in the form of an email to Rebecca from her mum. I don't think I should publish the Schuler family secret pancake recipe here or I might be in trouble (!) but it's a thicker mixture than the one above, with the addition of sugar and baking powder.

They ooze out into a smaller circle than the thin ones as they hit the pan, and although they still look almost liquid on the top you know it's time to flip when lots of bubbles rise to the surface. You can actually see the entire thing rising and getting thicker once the second side hits the pan. They're ready as soon as they come away from the bottom of the pan. Very yummy with the maple syrup Pete and Candi brought over for us, bacon optional.