OscarUK Senior Concessions

Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Recipies

OscarUK are here to inspire all you foodies with some delicious sweet and savoury recipes to make your mouth water, just in time for Shrove Tuesday.

The Classic pancake

This basic batter recipe for crêpes and pancakes is a versatile foundation for either sweet or savoury fillings

Makes 12
Preparation time 10 mins
Cooking time 20 mins

Ingredients

·  140g plain flour

·  200ml whole milk

·  2 eggs

·  25g unsalted butter , melted, plus a little extra for greasing

Method

1. Sift the flour with a pinch of salt into a medium-size bowl and make a well in the middle. Mix the milk and 100ml of water together. Break the eggs into the well and start whisking slowly. Add the milk and water in a steady stream, whisking constantly and gradually incorporating the flour as you do so.
2. Whisk until the batter is smooth and all the flour has been incorporated. Set the batter aside to rest for 30 mins, then whisk the melted butter into the batter.
3. Heat the pan over a medium heat. Very lightly grease the pan with melted butter. Using a ladle, pour roughly 2 tbsp of batter into the pan and swirl it around so the bottom of the pan is evenly coated. You want to use just enough batter to make a delicate, lacy pancake. Cook the pancake for about 45 secs on one side until golden and then using a palette knife or fish slice, flip the pancake over and cook the other side for about 30 secs until it freckles.
4. Slide the pancake out of the pan and either serve immediately or stack on a plate with baking parchment in between. Continue until all the batter is used up.

Why not try some other fillings on top of the classic pancake?
LEMON CURD MASCARPONE
Put 100g mascarpone, zest ½ lemon, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tsp icing sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Swirl through 2 tbsp lemon curd, then set aside. Spoon the creamy lemony mix over 2 warm sweet pancakes and roll or fold up.
CREAMY GARLIC & THYME MUSHROOMS
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large frying pan. Add 3 finely sliced garlic cloves and cook until golden. Tip in 250g pack sliced, mixed mushrooms, 2 tsp thyme leaves and seasoning, and cook for 5 mins. Add 100g cream cheese and stir until smooth. Divide the mix between 2 warm savoury pancakes, roll or fold up, and serve with a green salad, if you like.
HAM, SPINACH & GRUYERE
Empty a 250g bag spinach into a colander. Pour over a kettleful of boiling water and allow to stand for a few mins to wilt and cool. Squeeze out excess water, then roughly chop. Put 4 savoury pancakes on a board. Divide 4 large slices ham, 200g grated Gruyère and the spinach between them, then fold each pancake in half. Fry the pancakes in a non-stick frying pan for 2 mins on each side or until golden and crispy with a melting middle.
HONEYCOMB BUTTER
In a bowl, bash a 40g Crunchie bar with the end of a rolling pin into chunky crumbs. Add 50g soft butter, 1 tbsp honey and a pinch salt, then tip mixture onto a sheet of cling film and roll into a sausage shape. Twist the ends to tighten, then chill for 30 mins. Top 2 warm sweet pancakes with a slice of Honeycomb butter and an extra drizzle of honey.

Apples and Blueberry Blintzes

Blintz is the Russian name for a thin pancake often wrapped around a filling.

Makes 6
Preparation time 20mins
Cooking time 40mins

Ingredients

·  1 x classic pancake recipe (see ‘Goes well with’)

For the filling

· 250g tub mascarpone

·  1 tsp vanilla extract

· 3 tbsp caster sugar , plus a little extra for sprinkling

· 1 egg yolk

· 50g unsalted butter

· 6 small eating apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8

· 200g blueberries

· ½ tsp ground cinnamon

For the sauce

·   200g blueberries

· 3 tbsp caster sugar

·  squeeze fresh lemon juice

1. Prepare pancakes following the classic recipe (see ‘Goes well with’).
2. Beat together the mascarpone, vanilla extract, 1 tbsp of the sugar and the egg yolk until smooth and thoroughly combined, set aside. Melt half the butter in a large frying pan and add half the apples and half the remaining sugar. Cook until the apples are tender and starting to caramelise. Remove from the pan and cook remaining apples in the same way. Set aside. Add the blueberries to the pan, cook for 1-2 mins until they start to soften, remove from the pan and add half to the apples.
3. Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan with 75ml of water and cook over a low heat until the blueberries start to break down. Push the mixture through a fine nylon sieve, taste and add sugar or lemon juice if needed. Add the reserved softened blueberries and pour into a jug for serving.
4. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lay the pancakes out on a work surface and divide the mascarpone mixture into the middle of each pancake in a neat dollop. Top the mascarpone with the apple and blueberry mixture and fold over the sides of the pancakes to completely encase the filling in a neat square parcel. Arrange the blintzes in an ovenproof dish seam side down and scatter with a little caster sugar plus a pinch of ground cinnamon.
5. Bake on the middle shelf for about 10-15 mins or until warmed through. Serve 2 blintzes per person with the blueberry sauce alongside in a jug.

Crêpes Suzette

This classic French recipe is a fine way to elevate the humble pancake into a smart pudding

Makes 4-6
Preparation time 15 mins
Cooking time 35 mins

Ingredients

·  1 x classic pancake recipe

·  3 tbsp caster sugar

·  250ml freshly squeezed orange juice (2-3 oranges)

·  zest 1 orange

·  1 tsp lemon juice

·  1 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau

·  50g unsalted butter

Method

1. Prepare pancakes following the classic recipe - see ‘Goes well with’. Fold the pancakes into quarters.
2. Tip the caster sugar into a non-stick frying pan and set the pan over a low-medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt slowly without stirring and continue to cook until it becomes a deep amber-coloured caramel.
3. Immediately slide the pan off the heat and add the orange juice - be careful as it may splatter and spit as it hits the hot caramel. Add the orange zest, lemon juice, the Grand Marnier and return the pan to a low heat to re-melt the caramel into the liquid.
4. Add the butter to the sauce in small pieces, bring to the boil and simmer gently until glossy and reduced slightly. Add the pancakes to the pan and warm through. Serve immediately.

Haunting Halloween Recipes!

The challenge: resist the temptations of those mega packs of snacks on special offer! Try our top 3 Halloween recipes instead which we’ve carefully selected from BBC Good Food . These will surely entertain the little ones, and the big kids too - because we know that at 50+ it is still very easy to feel like a big kid!

Freaky Fingers – makes 20
 
100g caster sugar
100g butter
1 egg yolk
200g plain flour
½ tsp vanilla extract
20 blanched almonds
red food colouring , paste is best (optional)

Place the sugar, butter, egg yolk, flour and vanilla extract in a food processor and whizz together until a ball of dough forms.
Tear off a golfball-size piece of dough and use your hands to roll into finger-size cylinders - you should get about 20.
Place on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper - a little apart as they will spread during baking.
Use a knife to make a few cuts, close together, for the knuckles. Place an almond at the end of each finger and trim away excess pastry around the edge to neaten.
Place in the fridge for 30 mins.
Preheat the oven to 180°c/160°f/Gas 4
Bake for 10-12 mins just until firm.
Leave to cool a little, then paint the almond with food colouring, if you like.

Brainballs – makes 10
 
85g popping corn
1 tbsp vegetable oil , plus extra for shaping
25g butter
85g marshmallows

Place the popping corn and vegetable oil in a large pan set over a medium heat.
Stir the kernels around the pan to coat in the oil. When the kernels starts to pop, place a lid firmly on top and turn the heat down to low.
Cook, shaking the pan often to stop the popcorn burning or sticking, until the corn has stopped popping, about 5 mins. Tip into a bowl, discarding any unopened kernels.
Heat butter and marshmallows over a low heat until melted. Pour over popcorn and mix well until coated.
Lightly rub oil over your hands and shape the popcorn into small balls.
Set aside on a tray lined with baking parchment and leave to set.

Bloodthirsty Squash – serves 10
1litre lemonade
1litre cranberry juice
Juice of 3-4 limes

Fill up a kitchen glove with water, secure the end with a freezer clip or rubber band and place in the freezer overnight.
When ready to serve, stir together 1 litre each of lemonade and cranberry juice with the juice 3-4 limes. Pour into a punch bowl.
Remove the hand from the freezer and use scissors to carefully take off the glove. Place in the punch bowl and serve.

Find more recipes at BBC Good Food

 
Enjoy and don’t forget to let us know how you get on!