Pancake Day Activities
Shrove Tuesday has crêped up on us again, well almost! Taking place on 21st February 2023, it’s an eggcellent time to plan some fun and easy pancake day activities. From pancake crafts, scavenger hunts and races to the all-important pancake making, there are plenty of ways to keep everyone occupied.
Get creative
Before the main event, why not encourage the kids to explore their creative side? They could help with scavenger hunt preparations or get stuck into some fun independent activities using existing craft supplies. Great pancake day activities include creating paper pancake dolls with lolly sticks or a wooden spoon, funny finger puppets or painting pancakes with silly faces.
Create a scavenger hunt
We all know how fun Easter egg hunts are so why not create a pancake scavenger hunt? All you need to do is make some paper pancakes and hide them around the house. Lend the kids a frying pan to make it even more entertaining. You could even create a map with clues if you have time. For younger children, why not add expressions to each pancake. Or use yellow stickers for pancakes which can be stuck to paper or card. The reward for finding the pancakes is of course…eating them!
Have a pancake race
Each year people across the country join in with organised pancake races. Said to have originated from a baker back in 1445, legend has it she ran from her home to her local church flipping her pancake as she went to prevent it from burning. Aprons are traditionally worn in honour of the pancake race founder, why not create your own race in the garden or with a few neighbours?
Delicious Pancake Recipes
The best pancake day activities are the pancakes themselves and all the different flavour combinations. There is a huge selection of pancake recipes out there but here are a few of those fun and easy recipes, each of which can be easily adapted to suit the family.
Traditional pancakes
First up is an easy-to-follow recipe for traditional pancakes with lemon and sugar. The ingredients you need are 100g plain flour, 2 large eggs, 300ml milk, a tbsp of vegetable oil, lemon juice and caster sugar.
Method: Put the flour, eggs, milk, oil and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk into a batter. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and once the oil is hot, add a few large spoonfuls of batter to the pan. Cook your pancakes for around a minute on each side until they are golden. Serve with the lemon and sugar.
Banana pancakes
Another favourite is banana pancakes which can be made using overripe bananas. For this recipe, you will need 350g of self-raising flour, 2 ripe bananas, 2 medium eggs, a tsp of baking powder, a tsp of vanilla extract, 250ml of whole milk and a knob of butter for frying.
Method: Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas, whisk the eggs, add the milk and vanilla extract. Make a well in the middle of the dry mix and pour in the wet ingredients. Gentle whisk the ingredients into a creamy smooth batter. Heat the butter over a medium heat and once hot add 2-3 tbsp of batter to the pan. Cook each pancake for 1-2 minutes on each side, keeping each warmed in the oven, and serve with sliced bananas. This recipe works well with bananas but also strawberries, blueberries and Nutella!
Stacked American-style pancakes
For a sweet or savoury treat, try making some easy American-style pancakes topped with syrup, jam or bacon. The ingredients you need are 200g of self-raising flour, 1½ tsp of baking powder, 1 tbsp of golden caster sugar, 3 large eggs, 200ml of milk, 25g of butter with a little extra for cooking.
Method: Mix the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl. Create a well in the centre and add the eggs, 25g of melted butter and 200ml milk. Whisk the ingredients together until smooth. Heat a knob of butter and 1tsp of oil in a non-stick pan over a medium heat. Once the butter looks frothy, pour in some batter (c.8cm wide per pancake) and cook for 1-2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for another minute. Serve stacked on a plate with syrup, jam, blueberries or crispy bacon.
We’re looking forward to getting stuck into some of these pancake day activities and eating far too many tasty pancakes! Whatever you do this Shrove Tuesday, enjoy yourself!
