Recipes from professional Chef Tallyrand:

HOW TO MAKE PANCAKES

Shrove Tuesday is here next week (27th February), the day when traditionally pancakes are made and tossed all over the place and often end up stuck to the ceiling! So as promised, this week's recipe will give you plenty of time for practicing for the BIG day.

This is the recipe I use for crêpes, which are paper thin pancakes found in France (and now all over the world) where they are made on a special griddle. However they can be made just as successfully as thicker pancakes in a cast iron omelet pan or non stick frying pan.

I fondly remember having these at a friend's farmhouse in France where they were served rolled with a stick of freshly churned butter made from the farm's cream . . . cholesterol overkill! You might want to try yours rolled and lightly dusted with icing sugar, honey or spread with some of last weeks recipe for fresh raspberry jam?

In Germany they are called pfankuchen (literally 'pan-cakes'), in Frankfurt we used to half fill the pan and cook them very thick in the oven, dust them heavily with icing sugar and caramelise it under the salamander (grill) and serve with some lemon juice, honey and jam separately.

If you have never tried pancake making or never been involved in the tradition of making them on Shrove Tuesday . . . get into it, get the kids involved with making these, they will love it; it's a lot of fun.

Ingredients for Pancakes

flour	250	gm
castor sugar	30	gm
eggs	4	pc
milk	650	ml
cream	200	ml

How to make Pancakes

1. Bring milk to boil and cool to blood temperature (this is called scalding the milk)
2. Combine flour and sugar
3. Add eggs and mix well with a balloon whisk
4. Stir in 200ml of milk
5. Stir in cream
6. Stir in remaining milk
7. Rest for 1 hour before use

Chef's Tip for Pancakes

To make the pancakes:

1. Heat the pan over a medium heat, wipe the pan with a paper towel dipped in oil
2. Pour some of the mixture into the middle of the pan (as much as is required depending on the thickness you prefer)
3. Pick up the pan and rotate to spread the mixture out
4. Place back on the heat and cook until mixture dries out on top and very lightly browned underneath, toss or turn over by hand
5. Cook for a couple of minutes on other side
6. Remove from pan by sliding out onto a plate

Enjoy your Pancakes and bon appetit . . . . .

Published 19 February 2001