Celebrate Shrove Tuesday long after the day itself with these delicious pancake recipes.
Forget Valentine's Day, Pancake Day which follows two days later is arguably the best day of February! So to mark the occasion we'll be making as much pancake batter as our stomachs can handle with these delicious recipes courtesy of Waitrose.
Lemon & ricotta hotcakes with blueberry syrup
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Serves: 2
These hotcakes are similar to an American-style pancake - wonderfully thick and fluffy with a lovely, light texture from the ricotta. Serve a stack of these with the cardamon-scented blueberry syrup for an indulgent brunch or fruity dessert. The quantities can easily be doubled if serving more.
Ingredients:
- 250g ricotta
- 90g self-raising flour
- 50g caster sugar
- 3 Waitrose & Partners British Blacktail Large Free Range Eggs, separated
- 2 lemons, zest
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tbsp extra thick half fat cream
Blueberry Cardamom Syrup:
- 150g blueberries
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 cardamom pods, cracked open
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
Method
- For the syrup, put ½ the blueberries in a small saucepan with the maple syrup, cardamom and vanilla. Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer gently for 3-4 minutes until the berries have just burst. Take off the heat, stir in the remaining blueberries and set aside to cool.
- For the hotcakes, put the ricotta, flour, sugar, egg yolks, lemon zest and a pinch of salt to a large mixing bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon. In a separate bowl, using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into the ricotta mixture.
- Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat with 1 tbsp butter. Fry 3 hotcakes at a time (it makes 6 in total), using 2 dessert spoonfuls of the mixture per hotcake, and frying for about 3 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining 1 tbsp butter and hotcake mixture. Serve with the blueberry syrup (discard the cardamom pods) and a dollop of cream.
Cook’s tip: For a breakfast option, serve these pancakes with yogurt instead of cream. They also work well with orange zest instead of lemon.
Mango mojito pancakes
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
For this delicious dessert, seasonal mangoes from warmer climes are teamed with zesty lime and a hint of rum to give these traditional pancakes a tropical flavour.
Ingredients:
- 2 Waitrose Perfectly Ripe Mangoes, peeled, stoned and sliced
- 3 tbsp golden rum or apple juice
- 2 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar
- Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
- 2 tbsp shredded fresh mint
- 120g natural coconut yogurt, to serve
For the pancakes:
- 100g plain flour
- 1 medium British Blacktail Free Range Egg
- 300ml milk
- A little sunflower oil, for greasing
Method
- Place the mango in a heatproof bowl. Gently heat the rum (or apple juice) and sugar in a pan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the mango and set aside to cool. Add most of the 2 / 2 lime zest, juice and mint to the cooled mango, then chill until ready to serve.
- Place the flour and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and crack in the egg and a little of the milk. Whisk together, gradually incorporating the remaining milk to make a smooth batter.
- Lightly grease a 20cm heavy-based non-stick frying pan. Add enough batter to thinly coat the pan’s base and cook over a medium heat for about 1 minute, or until golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Place on a warm plate and cover with greaseproof paper. Repeat to make 8 pancakes. Keep them warm by placing in the oven at 120°C, gas mark ½. Place 2 pancakes on each plate and top with the mango and the yogurt sprinkled with the remaining lime zest.
Banana butterscotch pancakes
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus sitting
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes, plus sitting
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
- 150g plain flour sifted
- 50g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 284ml tub buttermilk
- 1 egg, beaten
- Unsalted butter, for frying
- 2 small bananas, sliced
- 75g unsalted butter
- 75g Tate & Lyle Fairtrade Golden Caster Sugar
- 100ml double cream, plus extra to serve
- ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
- ¼ tsp flaky sea salt
Method
- Mix the flour, sugar and bicarbonate of soda in a mixing bowl with a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre and pour in the buttermilk and egg, whisk together until smooth, then set aside for 30 minutes.
- For the butterscotch sauce, melt the butter in a small saucepan over a medium heat, then add the sugar and allow to dissolve. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly, until golden. Take off the heat and stir in the cream, vanilla and salt.
- Heat a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Melt a knob of butter, then add a small ladleful of the batter and spread to a circle roughly 12cm in diameter – cook 2-3 at once, if possible. Flip after 2-3 minutes when bubbles appear, then cook for another 2-3 minutes. Repeat to make about 8 pancakes. Stack onto plates, top with the banana and spoon over the warm butterscotch sauce. Serve with whipped cream too, if liked.
Cook’s tip: Don’t worry if the butter and sugar look separated as they melt and simmer, as the sauce will come together when you add the cream.
Waitrose & Partners is credited for all three recipes and for the photography. Thousands of recipes can be found at waitrose.com/recipes