It’s Shrove Tuesday today and traditionally the day for eating pancakes!
According to Christian tradition this day is all about being ‘shriven’ (to confess and be absolved of your sins) before a period of penance (oh for heaven’s sake!).
Otherwise known as “Fat Tuesday”, (much more realistic terminology, I think) in Catholic and Protestant countries outside of the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada - presumably because it’s an excuse for a day of feasting on rich food before a period of fasting.
Since I neither desire to be “shriven” from my sins nor get fat, I can’t see why it can’t be pancake day every day once you’ve got the knack of making them grain and gluten-free! These crêpes are so close to the real thing no one will tell the difference.
According to Historic UK a pancake is a thin, flat cake, made of batter and fried in a frying pan - so are ours! Traditional English pancakes (and French crêpes) are very thin and are served immediately - so are ours! Golden syrup or lemon juice and caster sugar are the usual toppings for pancakes - okay we’ll pass on the golden syrup in favour of real maple syrup, the caster sugar in favour of coconut sugar or, better still, no sugar at all if we choose oranges instead of lemons!
I’ve kept this recipe simple and made them child-friendly as well as healthy - though I suppose we should still limit ourselves to just two pancakes each! I hope you enjoy.
Basic Pancake Batter Ingredients (V) (Makes 8 pancakes for 4 servings)
Ingredients
225ml (8 fl oz) raw whole milk (or almond milk, if preferred)
3 large eggs
30g (1 oz) organic ground almonds
45g (1½ oz) coconut flour
40g (1½ oz) arrowroot flour
15g (1 tbsp) coconut oil
1 tbsp clear, preferably raw (unheated) organic honey
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
½ tsp baking powder
To Serve
Orange or lemon juice
Orange or lemon wedges
Organic maple syrup or raw coconut palm sugar (the latter crushed fine in a pestle and mortar or alternatively with the end of a rolling pin in a pudding basin)
Instructions
Place all the ingredients for the batter into a blender and blend thoroughly until it is smooth and the consistency of pouring cream - add a little more milk or water if it seems too thick.
Heat a 20cm (8 inch) non-stick pancake pan until it is hot. Lightly oil or butter the pan, then ladle in just enough of the batter (about 3 tablespoons) to coat the base thinly. Working quickly, immediately tilt and turn the pan in a clockwise direction to spread the batter evenly - the pancakes should be as thin as possible.
Fry over a medium-high heat for 30-60 seconds until just set. Flip over with a palette knife and continue to cook for a further 30 seconds. Serve immediately.
Or to make a batch, slide the pancake onto a large warm plate (set over a pan of just simmering water) and cover loosely with cling film. Repeat this process until all the batter has been used to make 8 pancakes.
When you are ready to eat, sprinkle each pancake with freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice and maple syrup (or coconut sugar), fold in half, then in half again to form triangles.
Serve sprinkled with a little more juice, extra sweetener and wedges of lemon or orange if liked.
Notes
Use a ladle (or jug) to pour all the batter into the pan in one go so it doesn’t set before it has chance to spread out evenly.
The side of the pancake fried last never looks as nice, so make sure that it’s this side that becomes the inside of the pancake when you fold it into a triangle.
Carbohydrate 10g Protein 6g - per pancake
Carbohydrate 14g Protein 0g - per serving of orange/lemon juice/maple syrup per pancake
