Pancake Day recipes: Eight top chefs share their tips for nailing Shrove Tuesday

There has been plenty of time to perfect the pancake: the dish is ancient, having been enjoyed sufficiently by the Greeks to inspire poetry circa 600BC. Historians believe pancakes go further and date back to the Stone Age. While the dumbly-straightforward “pancake” name wasn’t coined until the 17th century, the idea of mixing flour, milk and eggs appears to have been one of mankind’s earliest forms of cookery.

As such, long before lemon and sugar became the standard — and centuries before Nutella was even a glint in Pietro Ferrero’s eye — chefs, cooks and Neolithic sorts were experimenting. Old favourite pairings included everything from rosewater to sherry (still deemed a good choice by some).

Still, tens of thousands of years of history later, and few agree on the perfect accompaniment — or even a basic recipe. Below, eight top chefs share their favourite pancake day recipes.

Classic crêpes suzette

Natasha Sideris, tashas, tashascafe.com

(Courtesy of tashas inspired)

Many great dishes have been created by accident in the kitchens of absent-minded cooks and hot-headed chefs. One story of the origin of these crêpes tells how a young assistant waiter was finishing off a dessert for the Prince of Wales at the Café de Paris, when it caught fire. What the chef was thinking in entrusting this grand finale to an amateur we can only guess. But we’re grateful he did, because we now have this wonderful, burnt sugar and orange liqueur flambéed classic. Serve the crêpes with vanilla ice cream.

Makes: 4 crêpes

Ingredients

For the crêpes

For the orange liqueur sauce

Method

For the crêpes

1. Sift together the flour and salt, then whisk together the milk, sugar, butter, eggs and oil.
2. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture. Next, pour the batter through a fine sieve into a large mixing bowl.
3. Whisk in the beer, cover, and refrigerate for about 4-5 hours (although it’ll be best if left overnight).
4. Remove the batter from the fridge and let it stand to reach room temperature.
5. Once it has, heat a flat non-stick crêpe pan (though a frying pan will do) to medium heat, lightly brush with a little bit of oil and pour 125ml of batter into the pan.
6. Once the crêpe starts to bubble all over, it is ready to be flipped. This should be about two minutes per side.
7. Remove the crêpe from the pan, place on a platter and cover with a lid or dome to prevent the crêpes from drying out. Repeat until the batter is finished.

For the sauce

1. Heat the orange juice, then add the sugar, vanilla seeds and orange zest and bring to a boil.
2. Once the sugar has dissolved, whisk the butter in, bit by bit. When the sauce is smooth and thickened, add the orange segments and bring back to a boil.

To serve

1. Place the crêpes one at a time into the boiling sauce. Make sure they are completely covered. Fold them in half and in half again to make triangles, making sure you have a few orange segments inside each crêpe.
2. Once they are folded in the pan, covered in sauce and very hot, add the Grand Marnier. Carefully set the sauce alight, and allow it to flame briefly.
3. Serve with ice cream and the remaining sauce on the side.

Printed with permission from tashas inspired, available to purchase at tashas Battersea

‘Silver Dollar’ pancakes

Sandia Chang, Kitchen Table, kitchentablelondon.co.uk

(Marcus Cobden)

On a typical Shrove Tuesday, I make American-style “silver dollar” pancakes for my kids in the morning. They’re named after their small size and are really fun to stack up. We normally serve them with maple syrup and have them for breakfast that day. Then, in the evening, my husband James (Knappett, co-founder of Kitchen Table) will make us traditional English pancakes for dessert after dinner. He serves them classic, with sugar and lemon juice.

Ingredients

Method 

1. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine.
2. In another bowl, combine the milk and vegetable oil. Add the egg yolks to the milk and whisk to break up the yolks.
3. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Don’t worry, there will still be small lumps.
4. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until they have stiff peaks.
5. Add about 1/3 of the stiff egg whites to the pancake batter and stir it in to combine and lighten the batter. 
6. Add the remaining egg whites and gently fold until no white streaks appear.
7. Heat a griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Grease with butter or with nonstick cooking spray.
8. Pour about the size of a "silver dollar" of batter (about 4cm diameter) onto the hot griddle. Let the pancakes cook until bubbles form, then flip and continue to cook until browned and cooked through.
9. Continue with the remaining batter until all of the pancakes are cooked

Crepes with crispy maple bacon and spiced apple chutney

Gregory Marchand, formerly of Frenchie, Covent Garden

(Press handout)

“One of my favourite dishes at the restaurant for pancake day is this one, of pancakes topped with crispy maple bacon, spiced apple chutney and smoked bacon ice cream. The blend of fatty bacon, sharp, sweet apple and the cooling ice cream is just perfection.”

Makes: Six pancakes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

For the bananas

For the apple chutney

Method

1. Combine all the ingredients for the pancakes together using a food processor. Then, in a non-stick pan on a medium heat, cook the batter while making sure that the crepe is about half a millimetre thick.
2. Meanwhile, reduce the vinegar, sugar and maple syrup by half, add corn starch and cook for one to two minutes, add the apple and then the allspice, cook for a further two minutes, and then cool.
3. Sprinkle the banana slices with brown sugar and caramelise with a blow torch or simply under a hot grill. Garnish with icing sugar.

Pancakes with berry compote, fresh berries and clotted cream

Henry Omereye, Riding House Cafe, ridinghouse.cafe

(Press handout)

“My secret to light and fluffy pancakes is to add the egg yolks first to your mixture and allow it to rest for three minutes. Then in a separate bowl, beat the egg whites and combine all ingredients together. If you want thin, crispy crepes, always make sure your pan is not too hot as the batter goes in; you should be able to tilt the pan, so the batter forms a thin (!) layer over the base. Then gradually turn up the heat and cook for two to three minutes on each side. Keep checking so it doesn’t burn.”

Makes: 20 pancakes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

For the berry compote

Method

1. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, melt the butter and separate the egg yolk from the whites.
2. Make a well with the flour in the bowl and in the centre add the yolks, sugar, butter and milk. Mix and adjust the texture with water and allow to rest for three minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites into a foam and then combine with the rest of the mixture. Have your non-stick pan and some butter ready to cook.
4. Put a ladle full of batter into the pan and cook the pancakes for two minutes on each side, then finish in the oven for five to six minutes at 190°C.
5. For the compote, combine all the ingredients together in a pot, and cook them over on a low heat till it’s all reduced by half, then take it off the heat.
6. When everything is ready, assemble your pancakes. Top with clotted cream and garnish with a mixture of fresh blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. Add some good quality maple syrup and icing sugar, et voilà.

Sweet Goan pancakes filled with jaggery and coconut

Will Bowlby, Kricket, kricket.co.uk

(Press handout)

“There are hundreds of different pancakes across India, from sweet malpua to savoury dosa. I am constantly discovering new ones. This year I am making Alle Belle, which is a sweet pancake recipe from Goa and makes for the perfect afternoon treat.  If you fancy going the extra-mile, then garnish the pancakes with a dusting of icing sugar and some chopped pistachios.”

Makes: Four pancakes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

For the filling

Method

‘Puffy pancakes’

Emily Cuddeford, Twelve Triangles bakery, twelvetriangles.co.uk

(TWELVE TRIANGLES)

“For crêpes, I would always say add an extra egg yolk, make sure the batter is thin enough and give it a good rest before cooking”.

Makes: nine large or 14 small

Ingredients:

Method:

1. Weigh the dry ingredients into a bowl
2. Melt the butter in the frying pan you will use to cook the pancakes, then wipe off the excess with kitchen roll
3. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk with the melted butter. Add this into the dry ingredients and whisk to mix, it will be quite thick and start to bubble as the bicarb starts to react with the acid from the butter milk.
4. On a medium heat, drop spoonfuls of the batter into the frying pan and cook for a few minutes on each side, you will see bubbles start to come through the batter and you are looking for them to be a nice deep golden colour on each side.
5. Serve with yoghurt, roasted rhubarb and sweet dukkah for some crunch. These are also great with butter and jam if you have leftovers.

American pancakes

Sean Rankin, Grantley Hall, grantleyhall.co.uk

(Grantley Hall)

Makes: 12-15

Ingredients:

To serve:

Method:

1. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large mixing bowl.
2. Add the butter, flour, baking powder, milk and vanilla essence. Mix all ingredients together to make sure there are no lumps.
3. Place a dry crêpe pan over a medium heat. Once hot, pour in half a ladle of batter, immediately tilting the pan with your other hand to spread the batter evenly.
4. Cook until the edges begin to colour and you notice small bubbles appear all over the surface, and then flip the pancake.
5. Cook for a few moments on the other side and then slide onto a plate.
6. If you would like to serve straight away, keep warm until all the pancakes are cooked.
7. To serve the pancakes, top with chopped pecan nuts and drizzle with maple syrup.

Thai-inspired banana and cardamom pancakes

Sebby Holmes, Farang, faranglondon.co.uk

(Farang)

Makes: 8-10

Ingredients:

For the pancake batter:

For the topping:

Method:

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, melted butter, mashed banana, Thai cinnamon and vanilla extract until well combined.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually whisk in the wet mixture until you have a smooth batter. Let rest for 15 minutes.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add a small knob of butter and let it melt.
5. Pour about 60ml of batter into the pan, tilting to spread evenly. Cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.
6. Flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden brown. Keep warm while you cook the remaining pancakes.
7. For the topping, in a small pan, melt the butter and add the sliced bananas and Thai cinnamon. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes until the bananas are slightly caramelised.
8. To serve, stack the pancakes, top with the caramelised bananas, drizzle generously with condensed milk, and sprinkle with extra Thai cinnamon. Add crushed peanuts if desired.