Pancake Day!
 

http://www.b3ta.cr3ation.co.uk/data/...gurpancake.jpg

So today is pancake day, or for those of you into religion and shit, shrove Tuesday, the last day before the start of lent when you're supposed to use up all the fat and sugar in the house by making pancakes.

So what are your best recipes for pancake batter, what do you like on your pancakes and why do Americans insist on calling drop scones pancakes when they're clearly drop scones?

This year we're being exceptionally lazy and using pre-made batter mix which is really naughty but also really easy and cheap (The packs are like 9p in Tesco, you just add an egg and you're done). Normally though I'd use about half a pint of milk, an egg, a tablespoon of sugar, a pinch of salt then add flour until it's the right consistency (Runny but not watery). Adding a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg to the batter mix can be nice too, although obviously that requires everyone to like those.

In my family we've always gone with the classic combo of Golden Syrup, sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice on pancakes but recently I have been swayed to the darkside of nutella and vanilla ice cream. For savoury pancakes you can't really beat bacon and onion with a bit of worcester sauce or mushroom and ricotta is pretty awesome too.

As for what a pancake actually is, it should look like this:

http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thum...on_a_plate.jpg

Notice how it is very thin and dappled from being fried in oil. You may know this as a crepe, which is what the French decided to call them after we taught them how to make them because the French hate using english words (Seriously, the French word for Bulldozer is Bulldozere, they just had to add an "e"). Quite why you'd pick the French name over the English one is probably to do with them saving your asses in the War of Independance. I suspect most people reading this will think a pancake looks like this:

http://dailycontributor.com/wp-conte...ompetition.jpg

Thick and a solid colour as a result. This is what's known as a drop scone in the real world, just in case you're ever over here and want to buy some. The batter mix is thicker and closer to what you'd use for baking scones, only you drop the mixture into a hot pan, hence the name.

Anyway, post your recipes and serving suggestions here!

What's your opinion on the term griddle cake?

I generally don't make pancakes too often since I don't have a nice large griddle to cook them on and it takes forever doing it one at a time. I'm a big fan of waffles, however, and have a great waffle iron that's makes halfway between "normal" and Belgian waffles. I'm a fan of the buttermilk variety, and this one recipe I got out of a magazine from the register at a supermarket is even better since it has a slightly eggy taste, somehow reminding me of funnel cakes.

Also, waffles freeze way better and are fantastic for their ability to be paired with ice cream.

I can't say that's a term I've ever used. I'd love a decent waffle recipe though, the only ones we ever have are the Birdseye Potato variety.

Not sure if you guys do all of your kitchen measurements in grams and liters or not, so you'll just have to deal with me using a more useful form of measurement.

2 Cups all purpose flour
2 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 C low-fat buttermilk
1/2 C (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
oil for waffle iron

1) Preheat oven to 275°F; set a rack on a baking sheet, and place in oven. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl whisk together buttermilk, butter ,and eggs; add flour mixture, and mix just until batter is combined.

2) Heat waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions; brush with oil. Pour batter onto iron (amount depends on iron size), leaving 1/2-inch border on all sides (spread batter if necessary). Close iron; cook until waffles are golden brown and crisp, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to rack in oven to keep warm; repeat with remaining batter.

I've found this makes 2-3 sets of four waffles depending on how much batter I put in each batch.

We use all kinds of ridiculous measurements here so have plenty of conversion tables. Cheers for that, I'll give it a go sometime.

It sounds like we're having crepes for supper today. I don't know the recipe, though, i just eat them.

Fuck pancakes.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_h0d7YL4bOE...400/paczki.jpg

Paczki's are where it's at.

That looks like an abortion in a glazed bread roll. Plus there aren't enough vowels in that word.

Isn't Tesco the place that was selling spaniel meat labeled as "budget turkeys" for Thanksgiving? I don't think I'd be willing to shop there anymore, even for something like pancakes.

The pancake I'm currently eating came from a mixture consisting of:

1 egg
300ml milk
200g flour (then as-needed for consistency)

Of course, the correct seasoning would be sugar and lemon juice, though I adore bastardising pancakes into a savoury foodstuff.

Also, oh ken ='D

In North America we call it a pancake because "drop scone" sounds like a euphemism for taking a shit.

This is the dumbest thing I ever heard.

So I asked Omagnus and he said you're full of shit. :mad:

Fuck yes paczki. I had one with rosehip jelly filling. It was delightful!

Also I'm loving Skills' latest post with the 'ciao' ending. Fuck year word filters.

American pancakes look nasty, funnel cake looks horrifying. I don't mind British style pancakes, but I didn't bother having any today. Incidentally, was ceiling cat always in the picture? I'm sure I didn't see it the first time I checked this thread...

If you don't love funnel cake you're already dead on the inside.

I never had a funnel cake until last year. I want a mulligan on my life. Also, I've never heard of Pancake Day, but in the real world, I was celebrating Fat Tuesday in my small way by eating alfredo noodles with fried shrimp and chorizo. Best hospital food I've ever had.

Never really heard of this holiday, per se, and I was raised Catholic, so you'd think the last day before Lent would hold some significance.

By way of non-coincidence, I did know that people consume pancakes on this day - at least in my hometown. I never connected it to the beginning of Lent, however.

Lockport, NY is the birthplace of a man named Mike Cuzzacrea, the longtime Guinness World Record holder for marathon pancake-flipping. He's been featured numerous times on Food Network and everything. Well, each year, around this time (this morning, to be specific) he hosts a gigantic pancake breakfast for the residents of Lockport. Mike himself makes all the pancakes, typically over 10,000 of them, and each plate sells for $3 (or so) and goes to fund local charities. This year, he partnered with my friend, Jay Wulf, who is co-owner of an independent company called "Lake Effect Ice Cream" and Jay sold bowls of banana pancake-flavored ice cream as desserts.

Me, I don't typically make pancakes, as it can get a tad messy at times and I'm still forced to share kitchen space with a stepmother who is prone to casting long and irate tirades whenever I so much as leave a grease spot while cooking. Pancakes are just inviting an inquisition.
I do enjoy them, periodically. Not as much as I like waffles but pancakes are an acceptable side when visiting Denny's or something. My pancake needs aren't fancy. I'm content with blueberry, or maybe just some fruit on the top.

Never had a pakczi, which is mildly surprising given Buffalo's prominent Polish population. I think I've seen them at the Broadway Market (which will become a fucking AWESOME place as of tomorrow once all the vendors settle in for Lent) but never bought any. I'd really like to make one last stop in there this year before moving out of state, so if I see any pakczi, I'll try a couple. Got a funny feeling they make blackberry ones, and that sounds particularly good. Honestly, it just looks like a filled, glazed donut to me, but that's not really a bad thing.

Well I admit that I'm in no position to make a real judgement until I've tried one, but it looks like... just tiny pieces deep fried dough with powdered sugar on top. Considering your enthusiasm for it, would you at least say that it's far more appealing than it looks? Because I'm thinking it would have to be...

Omagnus is about the least British person I know, asking his opinion on anything British would be like getting diet tips from Mo0. I'm thinking of petitioning the government to repeal his passport next time he leaves the country for a GFF meet so he has to stay out and can bring no more shame to our great nation through his Merkin ways.

Drop scones.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2321/...5a7fd60fba.jpg

Also known as Scotch Pancakes or in America, just pancakes.

No, fried dough is dough ... that's been fried.

A funnel cake is made with batter. And as any cook will tell you, batter and dough are reasonably different. One is a malleable solid, the other is a thick liquid.

The funnel cake gets its name because it's delivered into the hot oil, typically, through a funnel-like device with a valve and trigger system for regulating the flow. The batter pours out in thin streams while the cook keeps the batter confined within a small area. Because batter has such a high concentration of water, it boils off rapidly and the outermost starches solidify within seconds, allowing the cake to retain its shape.

And funnel cakes are most excellent. They taste as fried dough does but are lighter in texture and not quite as chewy, though just about equally greasy.


And Shin: While "drop scone" is a legitimate term - I've heard of it - it's also a completely stupid term. Mostly because it's kind of a bastardization of scones in general. Scone dough is completely different than anything used for pancake-type foods. A pancake is nothing like a scone; the implied cousin status isn't even based on anything sensible. A croissant is a closer relative to a scone than a pancake is.

I say this only because scones are awesome and I feel compelled to defend their honor.

Hey, I never claimed it was a logical name. A scone is primarily flour, butter, sugar and milk, it's essentially sweet bread. A croissant is layers of pastry and butter and pancakes are eggs, flour, sugar and milk. They're all basically the same thing, only with different cooking methods. I agree that a scone is nothing like a pancake once cooked but then the very name pancake, implying a cake in a pan is something of a misnomer. I suspect that pancakes were invented out of necessity when flour stocks were low as batter is really just dough with less flour in.

Small drop scones are known as pikelets, I wouldn't even want to guess where that name comes from.

You know full well that our names for things are often illogical, it doesn't make them, or me, wrong.

You know that dropping important pronouns like the word "it" from the end of sentences is completely illogical as well, right?

This box is full of feathers; the other box has gold in.

Yeah, it's sloppy grammar but that's colloquial speech for you.

All. Up. In.

Shin, your so-called pancakes look like crêpes, just sayin'.