Baffled Brits are flipping out when it comes to being prepared for Pancake Day. Unlike Christmas, Easter and Halloween, Pancake Day isn’t such a memorable date in the family calendar and people across the UK are constantly surprised when it creeps up on them leaving them unprepared, in a mess and running around at the last minute searching for ingredients.
But for this year’s Pancake Day on Tuesday 16 February, Lyle’s Golden Syrup is on hand to help -preventing the nation from getting into a pancake panic with its definitive "Four Steps to Perfect Pancakes", designed to ensure we are prepared for the big day.
With the help of home economist to the stars Janet Brinkworth, famous for her work with Gordon Ramsay on C4’s The F Word and James Martin on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen, Lyle’s is out to educate the nation on how to cook stress and mess-free pancakes - and drench them with tantalising toppings.
The "Four Steps to Perfect Pancakes" comprise of instructions and advice for each stage of the pancake process - PREP IT, COOK IT, FLIP IT, TOP IT! Follow this method and you simply cannot fail to impress, from a soft and luxurious batter mix and fantastic flipping technique to sticky, scrummy sauces to pour on top.
Supporting the campaign to get the nation flipping-mad is celebrity mum Emma Forbes. She followed the Four Steps to Perfect Pancakes and was blown-away by the results. "I have always been one of those mums who panics at the mere mention of Pancake Day," says Emma.
"My kids would come home from school all excited and I would suddenly realise that I had forgotten scrabbling around for a recipe.
But by following the steps and keeping them on hand, I found it so easy. I never knew that you should make the batter in advance and let it rest, let alone adding other ingredients to it to make it yummier. You can even make the pancakes on Sunday and keep them in the fridge.
"Knowing exactly how long to cook each one for is also a minefield but Janet’s timings are spot on," Emma adds.
"My flipping technique still needs some practice but by following the steps I felt I was more confident throughout the whole process."
1. Make your batter either the night before Pancake Day or on the morning of the day, to let the flour in the batter relax it makes much better pancakes.
2. For an extra rich batter, place a small cup full of eggs, of milk and of flour into a bowl and whisk very well until smooth.
3. Grate the zest of an orange into the batter when you make it it gives a lovely fresh zing to the pancakes.
4. Add 3-4 tbsp of Pouring Syrup to the batter when you make it, taking care to whisk the batter well, for an extra luxuriousness.
5. Whatever size pan you use, you want the batter to be about 2mm thick in the bottom of the pan so it coats it but you can’t see through it.
6. Remember: Unless you’re very lucky, then first pancake will most likely stick - this is perfectly normal don’t worry! Give it to the dog.....
7. Clean the frying pan out with a little kitchen roll, and add more butter each time you’re less likely to get burnt bits that way.
8. You can make a whole batch in advance either:
o Keep them warm or reheat them just place them onto an oven tray with a piece of greaseproof paper between each one, stacking them up as you cook them.
o Cover them with cling film and put them in the fridge for 1-2 days.
o Discard the tray, wrap them in cling film and freeze them they will keep in the freezer for 1 month. Defrost them in the fridge for a couple of hours before they are needed.
9. To reheat the chilled pancakes, heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, place them in stacks of 3 onto an oven tray, cover with foil and heat for 10-15 minutes until hot.
10. Alternatively, place 4 onto a plate, cover with cling film and heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (dependent on your microwave).