Buckingham Palace chefs reveal royal pancakes for Shrove Tuesday
Pancake Day is almost upon us with people getting prepped to flip up a storm in the kitchen this Shrove Tuesday, which falls on Tuesday 13 February.
While everyone has their own favourite way to enjoy the traditional treat - thin, fluffy, sweet or savoury - if you're looking to switch up your pancakes of choice this year you might want to take some inspiration from the Royal Family.
In 2021, Royal Chefs shared their very luxurious recipe for crepes to tuck into before Lent, and offered three different ways to top them: strawberry jam and cream pancakes, classic lemon and sugar pancakes, and savoury ham, leek and cheese pancakes.
For those without their own personal chef to hand, the step-by-step recipe is easy to follow and has been previously posted on social media for everyone to try out.
The recipe calls for 125g of plain flour, 30g of sugar, two eggs, one and a half egg yolks, and a pinch of salt, which the chefs say to combine in stages to make a smooth batter.
Next, add in 250ml of milk slowly, whisking all the time.
Then for another touch of luxury, add beurre noisette (nutty butter) to the batter.
This is made by putting 40g of butter into a pan and cooking it gently over a low heat until the water in the butter cooks off.
The chefs say to watch the butter carefully as "the milk solids will separate to the bottom of the pan and gently golden".
Once it stops spitting, put it aside to let it cool. Add it into your batter once the milk is all incorporated.
Next they suggest heating up a pan and melting in the butter before adding the batter and spreading it out around the pan.
Flip them when they are cooked on one side.
Watch: BBQ pulled pork with sweet corn pancakes
The chefs also offered three suggested ideas for pancake toppings, including the classic lemon juice and sugar.
But they also put forward a more unusual combination of jam and cream, which is more traditionally associated with scones.
They said: "A nice light alternative for pancake day. Whip up some double cream to a spreadable consistency. Once your pancakes have cooled spread over a layer of your favourite jam, we have used raspberry here, then a layer of whipped cream and fold up in to quarters.
"Garnish with fresh berries."
The final suggestion was a savoury choice, using ham, cheese and leeks. The recipe calls for a cheese sauce, starting with a roux of milk and flour, and adding in milk and Gruyere cheese.
Add ham and leeks into the sauce, and then put most of the sauce into the pancakes, and roll them up. The cigar shaped stuffed pancakes should be added into a buttered dish, topped with more sauce and cheese and then baked in the oven for 20 minutes.
If it's good enough for the Royal Family...
Ingredients for pancake batter
125g Plain Flour
30g sugar
Pinch of salt
2 medium eggs (approx. 100g)
1.5 egg yolks (30g)
250ml milk
40g butter (for the beurre noisette)
Ingredients for savoury pancake topping
200g cooked, diced ham
150g cooked and sweated down leeks
125g grated Gruyere cheese
275ml full fat milk
40g butter
40g Plain Flour
Read more about Pancake Day:
18 Pancake Recipes for Your Best Breakfasts Ever (Simply Recipes, 5-min read)
25+ Best Pancake Recipes For Shrove Tuesday (Good Housekeeping, 8-min read)
Our Most Reviewed Recipe of All Time (allrecipes, 3-min read)
