It’s almost that time of the year when the eggs, butter and sugar are removed from the kitchen cupboards to whip up a feast of delicious pancakes.
Yes, pancake day – or Shrove Tuesday, as it’s formally known in the Christian calendar – is nearly upon us, marking the last day before the fasting period of Lent begins.
Shrove Tuesday is traditionally a day of feasting before the 40-day period of fasting leading up to Easter and it’s always observed the day before Ash Wednesday.
Ash Wednesday makes the first day of Lent when Christians fast for 40 days up until Easter. Before Lent could begin people used to remove all of the foods they couldn’t eat while fasting from their house so they wouldn’t be tempted to break the rules.
This typically involved ingredients like eggs, milk and sugar, and one of the easiest ways to use these items up was to make pancakes, which is how the day came to be known as ‘pancake day’.
English Heritage explains: “Meats like bacon would be eaten up on ‘Collop Monday’ (a collop is a thin slice of meat), two days before the start of Lent.
“On Shrove Tuesday, eggs, butter and fat were used up – and one of the easiest ways to do this was to make pancakes or fritters. And they’re so delicious, people still enjoy them every February, whether they observe Christian traditions or not.”
Shrove Tuesday always falls 47 days before Easter Sunday, so the date varies from year to year but it’s always between February 3 and March 9.
This year it falls especially late on Tuesday, March 4, much later than in 2024 when it took place on February 13. The last time it fell in the first week of March was back in 2022 and before that in 2019.
Pancakes are very simple and easy to make as they don’t require many ingredients, so even those who don’t dabble in the kitchen much can give them a try.
English Heritage has shared a recipe for making Victorian-style pancakes this Shrove Tuesday and all you’ll need is four ingredients and a frying pan.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 142ml (a quarter pint) of milk
- 3 eggs
- Butter, for the pan
Method
First, whisk the eggs to mix the whites and yolks together, then add the milk and whisk that in too.
Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, and whisk each one in well so that you don’t have any lumps in your mixture.
Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add a small amount of butter. Let it melt and coat the pan.
Add in some of your pancake mix and carefully tilt the pan around to coat it evenly.
Cook for a minute on the first side, then flip your pancake over to do the other side.
Serve your pancakes warm with a topping of your choice and enjoy!
Historical hint: why not try layering and stacking your pancakes with jam? Then slice them like a cake and share with your family and friends.
