It's Pancake Day!

[Breanna]

It's Pancake Day, otherwise known as Shrove Tuesday or just Fat Tuesday 🎭 where I'm from. Traditionally it's a day to use up all the eggs, butter and sugar and fatty things that might tempt during lent and oh boy have so many places around the world come up with some good things to make with those ingredients.

Now before this morning, I've never heard of pancakes on Fat Tuesday so I thought it might be fun to take a look at some other traditional foods that get eaten exactly 47 days before Easter.

Krapfen, kreppel, kräppel, fastnachtküchelchen or packzi are jam filled donuts that are a staple in Austria, Germany and Poland at this time of year. They're also super popular in the Midwestern US where the locals have carried on the traditions of the immigrants who settled these areas.

Sweden is pulling out the stops and using all the Fat Tuesday ingredients for these. Semla is a wheat bun traditionally flavoured with cardamom and orange peel, then filled with marzipan and whipped cream. Six million of these are consumed on Shrove Tuesday alone- in a country of 10 million.

It may just be the ugliest cake you've ever seen but this is a New Orleans (and US) tradition. Just don't break your teeth on the plastic baby that get's hidden inside.

Aaand in the UK, Ireland, Australia and Canada we'll be eating some of these beauties. To be honest, it looks like the simplest way to get the eggs, butter, and sugar directly to your mouth and I appreciate that.

Will you be flipping up some pancakes today? I've never heard of lemon and sugar as a topping but I think I'll be giving that a go.

[TallTrees]

Oh fantastic all those gorgeous yummies @Breanna 

Loved pancakes, when Mum used to make them. 😋 

The semla looked "up my street" love cardamom with the orange .. 😍 

[Cleoriff]

We always have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday @Breanna 

Must say we also enjoy jam donuts in our family. 😋

[Enlli]

Still like the old fashioned way. Lemon juice and brown sugar then rolled up. 

[Enlli]

 

[Cleoriff]

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@Enlli wrote:

Still like the old fashioned way. Lemon juice and brown sugar then rolled up. 

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Totally agree @Enlli although my other half prefers his covered in jam!

[Breanna]

Sounds like I need to try this.

The only problem with pancakes is that there's always batter for a million of them!

[gmarkj]

No pancakes yesterday, but maybe tonight.

Daughter wants my "green pancakes" - not mouldy, just made with some spinach in them.

As for toppings, standard need lemon and sugar, while the green variety have yoghurt and honey!

[Breanna]

Ooh that sounds nice! I think you guys have the right idea. American pancakes are way too dense and sweet. 

My favourite one has got to be the Chinese scallion pancakes. The dough is made with oil and then it's kind of swirled when it's flattened so it's all layered and crispy. Nothing beats one of those from a street cart.