I inhabit the British side of Twitter. I’m not really sure how I got there, but I really appreciate their humor and commentary so I’m not complaining. Every year I am blindsided by videos of people flipping floppy pancakes on what I know to be Mardi Gras. I now know it’s also called Shrove Tuesday.
Shrove, as I’ve learned, is the past-tense of the verb “shrive”, which means to absolve. Shrove Tuesday is the last day of the liturgical shrovetide and the last day before the Lenten season begins.
In America, or at least my particular corner of it, we are more familiar with Mardi Gras - a huge carnival celebration with parades, much imbibing, and a lot of boobs-for-beads-pay-to-play. King cakes are the traditional way to celebrate, besides blacking out on Bourbon Street. The traditional french version is a puff pastry filled with frangipane and an almond to symbolize the baby Jesus. Our American king cakes are more like a gigantic oval cinnamon roll, topped with colored sugars, and featuring a plastic baby (or sometimes a portable toilet).
Shrove Tuesday is an understated version of this. Historically Lent was about to begin and it was time to clear out the eggs, butter, milk, and sugar from your pantry and larder as you prepare the season of abstinence. Typically Shrove Tuesday is celebrated with pancakes and sweets, hence the flipping videos. But why flipping? Well, it’s just a tradition that everyone should flip one, according to Britain Magazine. “And every man and maide doe take their turne, And tosse their Pancakes up for feare they burne.” (Pasquil’s Palin, 1619).
In short, it’s breakfast for dinner tonight. No, you don’t need to flash anyone. You can still get wasted if you want, just make sure you’re stable enough to flip the pancake when it’s your turn.
Renaissance Pancakes
75g plain flour
25g rye flour
Pinch of salt
300ml lager or ale
1tbsp honey
2tbsp melted butter
2 eggs
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in beer, honey, and melted butter. Mix to combine. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Fry in a buttered pan. Make sure you flip it. Serve as you like it (I’ve heard of lemon juice and sugar, honey and hazelnuts, or just butter and syrup). I guess enjoy your last tasty meal for the next 40 days.
I adapted my pancakes on a recipe I found on Postej & Stews. I liked the idea of an older version of pancakes, but the blog is clear that there is no historical source for the recipe. In any case, I will continue to call them Renaissance Pancakes.