Cooking with Hannah: Pancakes!

Want to gorge on pancakes this Shrove Tuesday but can’t even cook toast? The Tab is here to give you a hand.


In case you didn’t know or had forgotten (it certainly creped up on me) Tuesday is Pancake Day! So if you fancy yourself as a bit of a tosser (ahem) or just want to exercise your right to eat pancakes all day, The Tab is here to help.

Today we’re teaching you how to make two types of pancake – so whether you’re on Team Thin or Team Thick, The Tab can stop your Shrove Tuesday ending with some dissapointing congealed eggs stick to the bottom of a pan.

These recipes, taken from the Dairy Book of Family Cookery, are flippin’ easy to follow and cost just 60p (all prices are taken from Tesco). I’m not sure that can be battered.

For Scotch pancakes/ Drop scones: 50p – makes about 12 pancakes

  • 120g (4oz) self-raising flour (3p, 45p/1.5kg)
  • Pinch of salt (a few pence, 29p/750g)
  • ½ tbsp caster sugar (a few pence, £1.48/kg)
  • 1 egg (23p, £1.38/6)
  • 150ml (1/4 pint) milk (11p, 89p/2 pints)
  • A knob of butter for frying (10p, 98p/250g)

For thin, crepe style pancakes: 60p – makes about 8 pancakes

  • 120g (4oz) plain flour (3p, 45p/1.5kg)
  • Pinch of salt (a few pence, 29p/750g)
  • ½ tbsp caster sugar (a few pence, £1.48/kg)
  • 1 egg (23p, £1.38/6)
  • 300ml (1/2 pint) milk (22p, 89p/2 pints)
  • A knob of butter for frying (10p, 98p/250g)

In each case, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the egg, sugar and half the milk. Mix and gradually pour the rest of the milk in. Beat the batter until it is smooth. It will be fairly thick for the Scotch pancakes and a lot thinner for the thin pancakes.

1c Be patient – the uncooked batter doesn’t taste very nice.

Leave to rest while you melt a little butter in a frying pan. You just want a light coating of butter so pour away any excess then turn up the heat so the pan gets hot.

2 (1) TURN UP

For the Scotch pancakes, pour just over a tablespoon of the mix into the pan. For the thin pancakes, pour a little more batter in and swirl the pan so the bottom is thinly coated with the mix.


Cook the Scotch pancakes until you can see bubbles appear and the bottom is golden brown. Flip and cook the other side for 30 seconds or so. Cook the thin pancakes until the sides are starting to curl and the bottom is golden brown. Flip then cook for a little longer until the other side is golden brown.

4d Yum

Transfer the pancakes to a warm plate and cover until you are ready to eat. With each pancake, melt a little more butter in the pan and do the same thing until you have used all the mix. Alternatively, you can keep any spare mixture in the fridge for a day.

5 Fuck. Yes.

Top with lemon and sugar, peanut butter and nutella, or if you’re feeling especially fat, bacon and maple syrup. Flippin’ delicious.

5. endless choice SO MANY POSSIBILITIES

Like The Tab on Facebook and follow us on Twitter