Your guide to a Liverpool Lockdown Pancake Tuesday

When it comes to great desserts it doesn’t get much ‘batter’ than a good pancake.

Tomorrow is Pancake Tuesday – or Shrove Tuesday – so get out the frying pan and get ready to flip out for some lockdown fun with the fam.

Of course you can eat them! But you can also have a laugh with them too…

Have a pancake ‘Bake Off’ at home

See who can make the perfect pancake stack in your house – and be thankful there’s not too much chance of a soggy bottom.

We’ve got a great recipe from The Interesting Eating Company in Allerton Road, which is famed for its fab American-style pancakes – so get beating and see how your turns out.

American Pancakes from The Interesting Eating Company

Makes 12 American style pancakes

(Serves 4)

Ingredients: 

600g Plain Flour

5 Large Eggs

600ml of milk – they recommend blue top.

35g of baking powder

60g of granulated sugar

30 grams of melted butter

Small pinch of salt.

Method: In a large bowl whisk the eggs and milk together. Sieve the flour for light and fluffy pancakes, then add to the wet ingredients

Add the sugar and baking powder, continuing to mix using an electric whisk. Add the butter, and a pinch of salt, and whisk until smooth – lumps mean dry bubbles of flour.

Heat your pan to a medium temperature – too hot and the pancakes will burn before the middle cooks. Lightly grease your pan with a small amount of oil.

Add 2 tablespoons of pancake mixture to the pan for each pancake. The mix will spread so make sure you leave space.

Wait for about 3 minutes and resist temptation to mess with the pancakes. They should bubble and then stop when they’re ready to be turned. If you can slide your spatula under the pancake with ease, it’s ready.

Flip them quickly, and with as much confidence as you can. Leave them to cook again for another 2 minutes. When they’re ready they should sound hollow when you lift them with the spatula and let them drop. 

Now they’re ready to be smothered in your favourite toppings: Any fruit and chocolate spread of your choice; syrup; simple with sugar and lemon, or go for savoury with
sausages and bacon?

Make Pancake Portraits

You can pick loads of sweet toppings to create a pancake portrait, from chocolate and raspberry sauces, sugary laces, fruit for facial features or squirty cream for a full-on beard.

So put a collection of goodies on the kitchen table and get ready to create.

You can just create a funny face or base it on someone you know (come on, be kind!) and see if anyone can guess who it is. Or you can put a list of famous names or kids’ characters into a hat, pick one out and then try to ‘paint’ that person with your pancake.

The person who creates the best pancake likeness wins.

On your marks, get set…

The old ones are, quite often, the best, and everyone loves a pancake race.

All you need is a saucepan (but don’t pick out the heaviest!) and a pancake.

You need to set a distance with a starting and finishing point – it can be longer for older children if you have the room – and everyone taking part needs to run against the clock, flipping their pancakes as they go.

The first person to the finishing line with their pancake still intact and in the pan is the winner – but to ensure fairness make sure everyone flips their pancake a set number of times. Hey, we don’t want any cheating here!

Flipping fantastic

If you’ve not got loads of room for a race, or you just want to keep it simple, just see how many times people can flip a pancake in the air?

Set a time – say one minute – and see how many times you can toss a pancake into the air, making sure it goes at least a foot in the air.

Pancakes to takeaway

If you don’t fancy making your own pancakes there are still plenty of places to make them for you to take away (and some deliver too!).

Potts Coffee in Slater Street is open Saturdays and Sundays for takeout. It’s fully vegan and it serves breakfasts right until 3.30pm, with an amazing range of sweet or savoury pancakes.

The Interesting Eating Company is the place to go for an American feel to your pancake needs, Thurs-Mon from 10am-4pm. Go all-out with a Biscoff stack, covered in warm Biscoff spread, crumbled Lotus biscuits and white choc.

The Tavern Co on Smithdown Road does Snickerdoodle Pancakes, a stack of three pancakes layered with peanut butter and covered with chocolate ganache, topped with crushed nuts then whipped cream. Open from 9am to 2pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday and you can order for collection through the website, or get one delivered.

Space Coffee on Aigburth Road is so worth a visit for pancakes. They’re serving up to 4pm for collection, and they do deliver too.

Moose Coffee in Dale Street and Hope Street is still offering some of the best American pancakes to take away with toppings like granola and chocolate peanut butter, and apple and salted caramel! Open daily from 9am-4pm, for collection or delivery.

A few pancake facts for you

* Shrove Tuesday is always the day before the first day of Lent, known as Ash Wednesday.

This year that date falls on Tuesday, February 16, with Ash Wednesday being on Wednesday, February 17.

* The date is always 47 days before Easter Sunday.

* The name ‘Shrove’ derives from the word ‘shrive’ meaning to free yourself from sin.

* The idea is to get rid of any indulgences and rich foods in the house before the beginning of Lent.

* In the US Shrove Tuesday is known as ‘Mardi Gras’ meaning Fatty Tuesday in French.