Pancake Day!

Battle of the Pancakes - Crepe vs American!

Opening Ramble

Pancake day aka Shrove Tuesday aka Fat Tuesday aka the day to confess your sins before Lent.¹ It has long been one of my favorite Christian holidays, as a longstanding non Christian. All of the benefits of pancaking and none of the Lent abstinence, truly a golden syrupy time. It took off as pancake day because typically the ingredients were the first on the list to be given up for Lent; Something I learnt preparing for this. That’s right folks, I actually prepare for these things! Now, onto the more important things, what type of pancakes should you make?

In the continental corner, we have the legendary Crepes. Dainty, delicate and, most importantly, delicious. The pancakes of my childhood. In the opposite corner, coming in from America/Scotland, we have the “American” Pancake.² Robust, hearty, homely and also delicious. But which should you make today? That is the answer I’m hoping to provide at the end of this piece. As a control, I used recipes from the same author. The wonderfully talented Ravneet Gill. I used her blueberry pancake and crepe recipes from her awesome book “The Pastry Chef’s Guide”. Anyway, less talk, more food. Let’s see how they stack up!

American pancakes - El Burro

I like to think of American pancakes as similar to burritos. Great carriers of flavour and encroutements. You can pack anything on top of those little donkeys and they’ll put in that work, reliably delivering tasty delights. You can remix it with heavy decadent syrups and sauces or keep it light and simple with some fruit and whipped cream. Regardless of topping, at their best they’re light, fluffy and incredibly filling, the best carby way to start your day. See my Sunday In Brooklyn review for a spectacular example you can buy at restaurants.

Recipe Difficulty - 6/10

Recipe Rating 7.3/10

Recipe - Makes 16 small pancakes

• 220g AP (plain) Flour

• 3 tbsp Caster Sugar

• 1 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

• 1/2 tsp fine salt

• 2 Large Eggs

• 240ml milk (whatever you fancy)

• 240g Plain Yoghurt

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 50g unsalted butter, melted

• 100g blueberries

1. Mix all dry ingredients

2. Mix all wet ingredients

3. Add wet to dry whilst whisking quickly to form a smooth batter

4. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and let it rest for 30 mins at room temp

5. Stir in the melted butter and blueberries

6. Melt a bit of butter in the frying pan over medium heat

7. Pour a small amount of batter (I used 1/4 cup) into the pan. Cook until you see bubbles start to form around the edge and then flip. Cook for another 2/3 mins

Ravneet Gill’s interpretation feels like a British take on the American Pancake. It feels less substantial, much thinner and less cake-ish than traditional American Pancakes I’ve had in the States. As a result however, you’re able to have a lot more pancakes. My partner, for example, rarely gets past halfway on American Pancakes, but managed to get through three of RG’s version. Personally, I think the key difference is the use of Greek yoghurt rather than buttermilk, as is the usual custom. Buttermilk leads to thicker, fluffier pancakes whenever I’ve utilised it. But for the average British fridge, this is definitely an easier recipe to put together. The only real difficulty is getting the temperature right on your pan so both sides of your pancakes cook evenly. Other than that, it’s a fairly simple recipe to follow. It produces alot of small/medium pancakes, or a few very large ones depending on your preference. Regardless of size, they can be stored in the fridge or freezer for future breakfasts. As a make ahead, hits the mark recipe, I really liked it. They’re as versatile and delicious as you want American pancakes to be. I just couldn’t serve it to a red, white and blue blooded American without a caveat knowing what the “true” American Pancakes taste and feel like. There’s a certain joie de vivre missing for me, but maybe that’s a skill limitation. Let me know in the comments how you get on!

Crepes - El Caballo

Crepes were what I grew up on. I didn’t even realize American pancakes were pancakes in cartoons. I thought they were genuinely weird breakfast cakes that Americans baked. The stacks were so thick and covered in butter and syrup, those surely aren’t pancakes…not these cakes made in a pan...Crepes are similar yet different so where I described American Pancakes as donkeys, crepes are obviously like a horse. You can pack essentials, what you love and need on the back of a horse and it’ll take you faithfully on a journey. However go too hard, get too greedy and overpack and it’ll fall apart.³ Like true thoroughbreds, the best of crepes are delicate yet able to deliver powerful blows (of flavours). Savoury or sweet, the versatile crepe has a universal appeal. A true breakfast of the people; fill it, stuff it or layer it to your heart’s content.

Recipe Difficulty - 4/10

• 135g AP (Plain) Flour

• 15g Caster Sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

• 330ml Milk (whatever you fancy)

• 110ml Double Cream

• 50g unsalted butter, plus more for frying

Recipe - Makes 10ish Crepes

1. Mix all the dry in a medium sized bowl

2. Make a very large well in the dry ingredients and then pour in the egg

3. As you whisk to combine the egg and dry ingredients, slowly stream in the milk. Take breaks to ensure the batter is lump free by whisking vigorously. After you’re done, add in the cream

4. Cover the bowl with a tea towel/cloth and let it rest for an hour at room temp

5. Melt some of the butter in your non stick pan on a medium/low heat

6. Place a ladleful/cupful of batter and tilt the batter around so it spreads evenly. Keep swirling the batter around the edges to keep the pancake thin and round.

7. Cook for 3-4 minutes until you can see crispy edges. Give it a gentle shimmy shake, if it moves as one then be ready to flip it. Now for flipping I used a spatula and carefully did it each time. The one time i tried flipping it, it did a full flip and ended up the same way up. The second flip was less successful and it flopped so I gave up on it. I’ve seen others use a plate, slipping the cooked side onto a plate and then flipping the plate. It offers way more control.

8. Once flipped cook until crispy on both sides (have a peek) and serve immediately.

I always thought they were much harder to make than they actually are. While these are not the true French crepes as they’re made with AP Flour rather than Buckwheat, this recipe gives you peak crepes each time. I’m a big fan of this recipe, and will definitely be bringing Crepes into my breakfast rotation as a regular guest star. I utilized the blueberries and bluberry syrup from the previous pancake recipe for my sweet crepes. But honestly, the standout Crepes were the savoury ones. I made a smoked salmon, garlic and herb Philly and avocado crepe that was peak brunch, at 7pm.⁴ My other savoury pancake was equally delicious with chorizo and gouda on top of the aforementioned Philly. Remix it with whatever you want; lemon and sugar (classic), chocolate chips, rocket and goats cheese, nduja and mozzarella. Just make sure your crepes can withstand the weight. Sometimes less truly is more!

Conclusion

It’s horses for courses folks. It really depends on what you prefer and I think more importantly what you grew up on. I have a stronger affinity for crepes, having grown up with them and associating them with so many happy memories. Y’all might have a particular leaning one way or another. Ravneet Gill’s recipes however, have universal appeal. Easy to follow recipes, regardless of skill level; clear, concise and full of little tips that have really helped me. If you have any interest in baking, get this book. You will not be sorry. Hope you have fun making these pancakes and let me know how it goes in the comments! Also for lent I will be giving up all Equine metaphors, similes and references. Given how many have littered this post, I’m sure y’all have had your fill for at least 40 days and 40 nights.

Extra Bits - Candied Bacon

Thank you for reading folks. Hope you have a flipping good time making either the Caballo or Burro pancakes! For my paid subscribers as an extra challenge, I wanted to see if I could make some candied bacon. I used Maple, light brown sugar and dark brown sugar to find out which way was best. Let’s find out below !

I placed the maple syrup on the first two rashers followed by the light brown sugar and then the dark brown sugar. One thing I noticed was the light brown sugar was absorbed immediately whereas the maple syrup and dark brown sugar kind of pooled so I had to spread it out much more. I introduced plain bacon on the side as a control to help keep an eye on the timings.

Due to greed, unfortunately I did not take any snaps of the final results, however they were interesting. The dark brown sugar bacon cooked much faster than I anticipated and was probably just a few degrees before burnt. The light brown sugar cooked slightly slower, so it achieved the perfect caramelized texture. The maple bacon even slower still but the texture resembled the plain bacon.

The winner by a clear and country mile was the Maple Bacon. The Canadians know what’s up. It has the best texture of the three and delivered the best sweetness that actually worked perfectly with the saltiness of the streaky bacon.

The light brown sugar, while it had a more pleasing caramelized texture, had a fairly bland flavour. Exaggerated more so with the dark brown sugar. So if you fancy some candied bacon decadence with your pancakes, make it maple!

1. Felt like a Wu Tang introduction

2. I don’t know who invented it but i feel like if i said Scottish pancakes people wouldn’t be sure of what I mean. If I say American pancakes, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

3. How’s this metaphor working for you ? Are you screaming neigh ?

4. Breakfast for dinner folks, it’s truly wonderful. Today is the day to do it. Go forth and be merry!