When I was a kid, Pancake Day (Shrove Tuesday) was one of the Big 5 Festivals of the year, second only to Bonfire Night. It was gloriously messy, all the kids could join in making the batter, flipping the pancake, squirting lemon juice and spooning on far too much sugar.

The perfect accompaniment for a lemon and sugar batter concoction is Crabbie's Original Ginger Beer. It's ginger, it's 4% alcohol and its £1.99 or three for £5 in the local Co-op.

The Recipe

100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
Half a pint of milk
Butter or other fat or oil for cooking

Fresh lemons squeezed or cut into fancy segments
Granulated sugar or, if you are posh, a nice bit of Fairtrade Demerara

Makes about eight pancakes

Method

Put flour and salt in a mixing bowl or jug and make a well in the middle.
Break the egg into the well and start to incorporate the flour.
Slowly add the milk, a little a time, stirring the mixture and beating out any lumps.
When smooth and about the consistency of single cream, stick it in the fridge for half an hour and pop down the offie to choose your beer.

Melt a small knob of butter in your frying pan until sizzling, give the batter a stir and add enough to thinly coat the bottom of the pan. Allow to cook over a moderate heat until the underside is browned, then flip your pancake and and cook until the other side is browned. Keep warm while you cook two or three more, according to your fancy.

Squeeze lemon juice over each pancake, scatter over a teaspoon of sugar and roll up. Eat.

Variations (Nutella and the like, whatever next) and even more history in this article.

Now, you do need a suitable pan for making pancakes and I'd done something terrible with the last one. Nothing for it but descending (ascending) into the bowels of T K Maxx with all the other lost souls

There should be something suitable here

Just how many challenges are there to get out of Hades?

But all's well that ends well

#BeerSaturday please vote for my entry in the comments on Beer Saturday Challenge Week 36

Bonus Recipe: Homemade Ginger Beer