Pancakes two ways

Pancake Day falls on Shrove Tuesday, a traditional feast day which precedes the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. It takes place 47 days before Easter Sunday so the date varies from year to year. Lent was traditionally a period of abstinence, when rich foods gave way to simpler foods, and Shrove Tuesday was therefore the last opportunity to use up foods such as eggs, milk and sugar before the fasting season began. Making pancakes seemed a good answer to this.

In England, the custom of eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday dates back to the 16th century and the day is often celebrated in rural settings by village locals taking part in pancake races.

The traditional pancake or crêpe

These are very thin and take no time at all to cook. I found this recipe in my grandmother’s book. This makes about 15-20 pancakes.

250g plain flour

600ml milk

2 eggs, beaten

pinch of salt

Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the beaten egg and half of the milk. Gradually stir to draw in the flour from the sides until you have a smooth batter. Stir in the rest of the milk and pour into a jug. I find it easier to use a jug to pour the batter mixture into the pan rather than use a spoon.

The recipe here tells you to leave it for an hour. I find 30 minutes is long enough!

Use a butter paper or kitchen paper to lightly grease the bottom of a frying pan and put it on a medium heat - a drop of oil will stop the butter burning.

Pour in a small amount of the mixture and immediately swirl it around the pan so that the bottom is evenly covered with the batter.

Leave to cook for about 30-40 seconds and then flip over with a palette knife.

Give it another 30-40 seconds, fold it in the pan and slide it onto a plate, ready for your first customer!

If you prefer a thicker and fluffier pancake - something Canadians love to eat for breakfast with bacon and maple syrup - then this is the recipe for you. I use a small frying pan, about 12cm diameter, to get the perfect size.

Canadian pancakes

225g plain flour

300ml milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tbsp baking powder

pinch of salt

25g melted butter

Makes about 10 small pancakes

Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl, add a pinch of salt. Make a well in the middle of the flour and add the beaten egg, milk and melted butter. Whisk together and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

Heat the frying pan on a medium heat and lightly grease with butter. Once the pan is hot, add a spoonful of batter to cover the bottom of the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Once it starts to bubble, flip it over with a palette knife and cook for a further minute.

If you want to add fruit, blueberries are perfect dotted around just before you flip the pancake over.

Chocolate chip cookies

This recipe was given to my mother when we lived in Canada. We were small children at the time so this was welcomed by all. As my mother did, I have converted the use of American measuring cups, this time into grams.

Note: American measuring cup = 8oz or 225g while an English measuring cup = 10oz or 280g

100g unsalted butter

100g caster sugar

100g soft brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

225g plain flour, sieved

½ tsp salt

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g walnuts, chopped (optional)

50g chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Line 2 baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Sieve the flour and add the salt and bicarbonate of soda. Chop the walnuts.

I tend to use walnuts as they are healthy and have a good texture, but you can also use pecans. If you decide to omit the nuts, double the quantity of chocolate chips.

Cream the butter and sugars together in a large bowl. Add beaten egg and vanilla extract, and then slowly beat in the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheets and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to harden slightly before putting on a wire rack to cool completely.

Keep an eye on the timing or your cookies will not be soft and chewy! They will keep up to a week in an airtight container

Cookies - a bit of explanation and some recipe ideas

In England, a cookie and a biscuit are two very different things. Cookies are soft, while biscuits are crisp – think Digestive or Rich Tea (made for dunking in that afternoon cup of tea!). In North America, however, the term ‘cookie’ has become the universal name for biscuit, whether it’s crisp or soft. I am going to stick with the English explanation here.

The word cookie is derived from the Dutch word koekje, meaning ‘small cake’ while biscuit comes from the Latin bis coctum meaning ‘twice baked’.

So, cookies are softer, chewier, and can be made with a variety of ingredients – arguably the most popular being chocolate chip. They are traditionally made from a soft dough which is rolled into balls and placed onto a baking sheet. An easier way of making them is a tray bake, which can then be cut into squares once cooked. Flapjacks or cookie bars are the obvious example of this.

Making cookies is easy. Once you’ve got the basic recipe, you can adapt it to suit, adding chocolate, spices, dried fruit, nuts or oats.

Check out my soft and chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe with the option of added nuts

For Halloween, chocolate chunk pumpkin cookies, a combination of dark chocolate, oats and golden syrup with a hint of pumpkin.

And for Christmas, white chocolate and dried cranberries make the perfect festive cookie for an afternoon treat.