This year, Shrove Tuesday is a little earlier than usual, which means we get to enjoy pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner in just under a week. Over the years we’ve perfected our favourite recipes, but our next challenge is the aesthetics; so we can naturally curate the perfect social media post to show all our friends.

Crafting the perfect tablescape for Pancake Day provides the opportunity to be both creative with your recipe, and the way you serve up the plates. Its fair to say we’ve all been putting more thought into our interior décor, and every detail really does matter.

The Perfect Pan

We’re not sure there’s any science behind a fresh pan making the food content taste better, but it’s something we’re willing to try out. Start your Pancake Day (and lent) with a new pan that truly delivers, courtesy of Circulon. You’ll be able to tell the difference from the pan you’ve been holding onto since your student days…

Circulon 2 Piece Infinite Frying Pan Set

Prestige Twin Pack Eco Frypans

Premier Pro Frying Pan Twin Set

Shop Circulon 2 Piece Infinite Frying Pan Set

Shop Prestige Twin Pack Eco Frypans

Shop Circulon Premier Pro Frying Pan Twin Set

Plating Up Your Pancakes

Here’s your opportunity to really have some fun. Utilise the plates you normally save for best (after all, none of us can have guests round at the moment), and serve your pancakes in the most decadent way possible. The current food trends portray smaller pancakes stacked sky high, which are ideal to have some fun with.

Why not inspire yourself with a beautiful pattern-adorned plate from Spode, perfect for starting out the creative canvas your pancakes can be decorated on.

Added Extras

Whilst the plating itself is important, we all know the importance of details, and it’s those finite touches that can really help Pancake Day feel like an occasion; and frankly we have to embrace it right now. Shop the Pimpernel sale for floral mugs, trays and coasters. Plus, don’t forget to go overboard with the fruit and sprinkles! There’s no such thing as understated.

Pancake Day Recipes

We’ll be sharing some of our favourite recipes on Instagram, as well as some alternatives here but if you’re looking for a basic recipe, here’s our tips on how to craft the perfect petit fluffy pancakes – USA style.

Ingredients

• 135g/4¾oz plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 130ml/4½fl oz milk
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or olive oil, plus extra for cooking
  

  Method

  1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.

  2. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

  3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it’s melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm/½in thick.

  4. Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out the pan.

  5. Serve with lashings of real maple syrup and extra butter, if you like.

Recipe sourced from BBC Food website

Words: Maria Loizou