You’ll discover that when looking for a sugar and lemon pancake recipe that this tasty version is a traditional British dish. They are lacy and thin like a
crepe rather than the typical pancakes we are accustomed to having for breakfast.
In fact, the
British sugar and lemon pancakes date back a long time and have been involved in many traditions for years. They are often made on Shrove Tuesday (somtimes called Pancake Day in Britain), the day before Lent begins. Years ago the Christians confessed theirs sins and were then absolved of those sins or “shriven” on the day before Ash Wednesday. This day was their last chance to “live it up” and eat eggs and fats before the long Lenten period. Pancakes like this became the tradition. Besides eating the pancakes, tossing the pancakes up to flip them became part of the tradition. You can sometimes see this at Mardi Gras in New Orleans or Carnival in Rio.
For your own Shrove Tuesday celebration or just for a treat that is both tart and sweet, here is a typical sugar and lemon pancake recipe. The only tricky part to making these pancakes is getting them nice and thin like they are meant to be.
British Sugar And Lemon Recipe Ingredients
1 cup of flour
A pinch of salt
2 eggs
1-¼ cups of milk
2 ounces of butter
Granulated sugar and lemon wedges
Instructions
1. Sift the flour into a bowl and add the salt. Use the back of a spoon to make a “well”.
2. Add the eggs into the well along with half of the milk. Using a whisk, gradually stir the flour into the eggs and milk. Beat the mixture well until all the lumps are gone and the batter is nice and smooth.
3. Add the rest of the milk and whisk again.
4. Heat an 8-inch frying pan on high. When it is hot, turn the heat down to medium.
5. Melt the butter in the frying pan and then pour it into a small bowl. Measure 2 tablespoons of butter and add it to the batter, stirring well.
6. Put 3 tablespoons of batter into the frying pan, tilting and moving the pan as you add the batter so that it coats the bottom of the pan.
7. Cook the pancake for 30 to 60 seconds or until it gets slightly brown. Then flip the pancake and cook the second side till it is light brown. Put the pancake on a plate and repeat this process (starting with a little melted butter) until all of the pancakes are cooked.
If the pancakes get too cool, you can reheat them in the microwave or keep them in a warm oven wrapped in foil until you are ready to eat.
To serve the pancakes, squeeze lemon over them and sprinkle them with sugar. Then either roll them up or fold them in half twice to form triangles. Once they are rolled or folded, add a little more lemon and sugar.
Tips
If it is your first time making these crepe-like
sugar and lemon pancakes, you might want to do a practice pancake or two to get a feel for how much batter to use and how much to spread the batter in the pan. The amount of batter you use depends totally on the size of the pan you use.
Comments (2) 20.02.2010. 10:09
Chinese pancakes have been used in Chinese cuisine for years. The standard Chinese pancake is often served with Peking duck and moo shu pork as a wrapper, a delicious and easy way to eat these great traditional dishes.
Chinese pancakes aren’t the typical pancakes that we eat for breakfast and drizzle with maple syrup. Rather than a runny batter, these pancakes come from a dough that requires rolling rather than pouring.
This recipe is quite easy. Just a few ingredients are required and maybe a little patience with the rolling pin to get the pancakes as thin as they should be. There are a few variations on how to prepare the actual pancake and those will be addressed after the recipe.
Chinese Pancake Recipe Ingredients
½ cup of boiling water
1-1/2 cups of flour
Extra flour for rolling the pancakes
A pinch of salt
2 tablespoons of cold water
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
Instructions
1. Mix together the flour, salt, and boiling water.
2. Add the cold water.
3. Stir until it is mixed together well.
4. On a surface sprinkled with flour, knead the dough until it is completely smooth. This should take about 10 minutes.
5. Cover the dough with plastic and let it rest for ½-hour. Resting the dough allows it to stiffen up so that it does not tear when rolling it.
6. Separate the dough in half and then cut each of the halves into 5 pieces.
7. Roll each of these pieces into a small ball.
8. On the floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll each ball into pancakes that are 3 inches wide. You might need to rub a little flour on the rolling pin so that the pancakes don’t stick to it.
9. Using a pastry brush, brush five of the pancakes with the sesame oil and then top those with a second pancake.
10. Roll these layered pancakes until they are 8 inches in diameter. Rolling the pancakes together like this allows them to stay moist.
11. Heat a heavy skillet. Do not use any oil or butter. The skillet must be dry.
12. Cook the pancakes on each side until they are full of air pockets and appear dry. Don’t allow them to brown.
13. Remove the pancakes and peel them apart.
14. Place them on a plate and cover them with plastic while you cook the remaining pancakes.
These pancakes can easily be reheated in the microwave right before serving time. Be sure to cover them with plastic.
Chinese Pancake Variations
Rather than making the dough into balls and then rolling each ball with the rolling pin into the 3-inch pancake, you can take half the dough and roll it out until it is about ¼ inch thick. Then use a cookie cutter to cut the 3-inch circles of dough. Repeat with the second half of the dough.
Some people place the rolled out pancakes on a baking sheet and bake at 325 to 350 degrees for about 2 minutes, then flip them and bake another 2 minutes on the second side.
You can also add some finely diced green onions to your dough and will have a
green onions Chinese pancake recipe. The pancakes are good enough to be eaten alone like this.
Comments (0) 20.02.2010. 10:03
Crepes are French pancakes that came to America with English settlers. Over the years, thin crepes lost out to the thicker pancakes we know today. In the 1930’s, the French reintroduced the United States to crepes, mainly through the famous dessert, crepes Suzette. Crepe recipes are popular in Europe and America and are simple, classic and versatile.
French crepes are not hard to make. Mix up the thin batter about 30 minutes ahead of cooking so that the flour can absorb all of the liquid. Use a 7½ inch crepe pan or skillet. New pans need to be seasoned with oil and wiped. After that, don’t wash your crepe pan after using it. Just wipe it clean with a paper towel.
This basic
crepe recipe can be used many ways. For main dishes, omit sugar and increase salt to ½ teaspoon. The crepe recipe makes 12 pan-size crepes.
For this crepe recipe you will need:
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup milk
¼ cup lukewarm water
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons of melted, unsalted butter
1½ tablespoons of sugar
pinch of salt
Using a blender or food processor and combine all the ingredients. Alternately, mix the wet ingredients with a whisk, then slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing well. Pour batter into a container and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Stir the batter before cooking.
Oil the skillet for each crepe, using the end of a stick of butter rubbed over the surface. Use a cup or ladle to pour 2 to 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan. Lift, tilt and rotate the skillet so that the batter coats the pan evenly. Cook on one side until the edges set and the surface bubbles, about 2 minutes. Use a spatula to loosen the edges and turn the crepe. Finish cooking so that the second side is lightly browned. When the crepe is done put it aside and make another one until all crepes are cooked. You should oil the pan after each one or two pancakes you make.
Crepes can be used right away or wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated or frozen for up to a month.
Crepes can be served for breakfast, as a main dish or as dessert. Filling and sauce combinations are endless.
Crepes for breakfast
Here are a few ideas for breakfast crepe recipes:
- fill crepes with scrambled eggs, bacon bits and cheese. Top with salsa.
- serve breakfast crepes filled with cream cheese and jam, topped with fresh fruit and cream.
- fill crepes with chopped apple cooked with cinnamon, brown sugar and butter. This waz crepes can double as a breakfast or dessert crepe recipe with cream or ice cream.
Crepes as an entrée
- Crepes can be filled with seafood or chicken, bound with a cream or cheese sauce.
- Spinach and white sauce results in Crepes Florentine.
Crepes as desserts
Crepes shine when served as desserts.
- Fill crepes with ice cream and top with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and nuts.
- Make a filling from cream cheese and jam, topped with fresh fruit or powdered sugar.
These were just a few ideas what to do with crepes - French pancakes. Crepes are a versatile way to add to your recipe repertoire and impress your guests. Enjoy!
Comments (1) 13.02.2010. 13:37