It hard to believe that tomorrow, the 25th of February, it is Pancake Day. This was a day that we used to really look forward to when I was a child because it was the only day my mom would make us pancakes, so it was a once a year treat for us! I am sure my mom's arms got tired standing at the stove cooking them for us! We ate our fill! She had an old wearever aluminium griddle pan that she used.
It looked just like this and after many, many years of use, it was bowed in the middle and no longer sat flat on the burners. My mom never ever had any other set of pots and pans and these were all she used until the day she passed away. I am not sure what my sister did with them. I suspect she gave or threw them away. They had no real value except for nostalgia's sake.
As a food blogger it can be somewhat of a challenge to show you something different each year when it comes to days like pancake day. This year I am sharing my Sweet Milk Pancakes, their shape being inspired by Ma Ingalls from the Little House books.
This comes from the Little House in the Big Woods.
"For breakfast there were pancakes, and Ma made a pancake man for each one of the children. Ma called each one in turn to bring her plate, and each could stand by the stove and watch, while with the spoonful of batter Ma put on arms and the legs and head."
"It was exciting to watch her turn the whole little man over, quickly and carefully on a hot griddle. When it was done, she put it smoking hot on the plate."
I cannot for the life of me think of any kind of pancake that might taste better to a child than a pancake man! Some of mine turned out not too bad . . .
Some turned out a little bit on the wonky side, which only added to their mystery and deliciousness . . . I think this was the most unsual of all of my efforts!
I took little squares of sweet butter and carved them into hearts to put onto the men. I thought it would be quite cute! I think it was . . .
No matter how wonky or unsual the men were, the butter heart told a story. It was the story of "I love you."
Look at them sitting there, just waiting to be gobbled up! Oh how I wish I had some grandchildren close by to feed these delights to!
Delicious, light and fluffy, served up piping hot with plenty of pure Maple Syrup to drizzle over top.
The big child in this house gobbled them right up, while Mitzie watched in anticipation. She always hopes for a tiny taste at the end.
Yes she is rather spoiled and truth be told, she doesn't care what shape her treats are that we share with her. She's just happy to have them, and I will tell you now, that I allow for a certain amount of treats in her alloted food for the day so that she isn't overfed.
This is a really lovely pancake recipe, wether you bake them as men, or as rounds. Light and fluffy . . . not too sweet. There is plenty of sweet with the syrup.
If you are not making Pancake Men, you can bake these in rounds, and even drop on bits of fruit while they are baking on the griddle. Chopped peaches, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, even chocolate chips and bananas . . . all are very good.
When my own children were growing up we usually had pancakes on Saturdays, and of course any time they had a friend to stay over night . . . and yes also on Pancake Day.
Like my mother, my arms would get tired standing at the stove cooking their fill. With five hungry children you can imagine that took quite a while. Like my mother, it was always a true labor of love.
Sweet Milk Pancakes
Yield: Makes 8 to 10 pancake men, or 20 - 24 round pancakes
Light and fluffy. Serve hot with butter, maple syrup and fresh fruit if desired.
ingredients:
- 75g butter, plus extra for buttering the griddle pan (1/3 cup)
- 300ml milk (1 1/4 cup)
- 2 large free range eggs
- 180g plain flour (1 1/3 cups)
- 1 TBS caster sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- maple syrup, butter and fresh fruit to serve
instructions:
How to cook Sweet Milk Pancakes
- Put the butter and milk into a small saucepan. Heat gently to melt the butter. Set aside to cool.
- Lightly beat the eggs and then whisk in the milk and butter mixture, combining well.
- Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a bowl. Add the wet ingredients all at once. Stir together to combine just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. The mixture doesn't need to be completely smooth, and in fact is better if you don't overmix it.
- Heat a large griddle pan and butter it lightly by rubbing the surface carefully with a piece of kitchen paper towelling that has been dipped in softened butter.
- To make pancake men (and I suggest you do these one at a time) ladle a circle of batter into the centre with a smaller circle on top for the head and four appendages at the sides for the arms and legs. Cook until bubbles break on the surface, then carefully flip over and cook on the underside for a further minute, or until golden brown. Scoop off and keep warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
- To make regular pancakes, ladle spoonfuls of the mixture onto the pan for each pancake, up to 5 or so at a time. Cook as above.
- Serve warm with plenty of syrup for pouring, butter for spreading and, if desired, fresh fruit.
If you are interested in exploring all of the varieties of pancake recipe that I have posted on here through the years, I did a post back in 2016 listing all of them. You can find that post here. There is something there to suit every taste! Happy Pancake Day!
