My Top 5 Pancake Fillings

With Shrove Tuesday (aka Pancake Day) just days away I thought I'd post of my top 5 pancake fillings of all time!

Some are sweet, some are savoury, and some are sour so there is guaranteed to be something for everyone!

From Mascarpone with Lemon Curd Swirl, Smoked Ham with Spinach and Emmental, Blueberry Pancakes, Balsamic Strawberries with syrup and last but not least The Ultimate Chocolate Pancake!


Give these recipes a go this Pancake Day and let me know using the comments form at the bottom, what are your top five fillings?

1.     Mascarpone with Lemon  Curd Swirl

This has to be one of the easiest of the fillings. A twist on the classic and requiring only two simple ingredients you can't go wrong with this one!

 (Works best with the Traditional English Pancake)

     ·        Grab a bowl and, for every pancake you are serving, place a tbsp of mascarpone into the bowl

     ·         Next take a tsp of lemon curd (again 1 tsp per pancake being served), and gently swirl this into the mascarpone.

    
     ·         You want it nicely combined but so that you get a pretty swirl of lemon running throughout

·         Serve either inside a rolled up traditional pancake, or as a big dollop on top of a pile!

2. Smoked Ham with Spinach and Emmental    

One thing I have always found strange about Pancake Day is that not everyone eats sweet pancakes for their dinner! It seems the more people I ask, the more strange it is that on Pancake Day my family eat sugary sweet pancakes as our main course, then more pancakes for pudding!

So, for those of you who don’t want to give up a savoury dinner, even for this one special night of the year, I dedicate to you the BEST savoury pancake filling going!

 You will notice how I have added EXTRA ham and emmental on top – that’s how good this combination is!

(This recipe works best with the TraditionalEnglish Pancake)

·         After cooking your pancake and while it is still flat in
the pan, layer on a slice of smoked ham (more if they’re only little), a handful of spinach (don’t worry about pre-cooking) and some slices of emmental.

·         Roll the pancake carefully – if you’re pancakes are as delicate as mine the ham and cheese will try escaping
out of it’s lace-like structure!

·         Once it is fully rolled place under a hot grill until the cheese has melted.

·         Enjoy!

3.    Blueberry Pancakes


This wouldn’t be a post on pancakes if at some point the words blueberry, syrup and America were not mentioned – so there you go, all three at once!

This recipe is a twist on the American Style Pancake I posted a few days ago and you will be pleased to know counts to one of your five a day! It’s a shame it’s counteracted by all the sugar you’re about to put on top...

(You can find the recipe for American StylePancakes here!)

·         When you have mixed your batter for your pancakes add roughly 100 grams of blueberries to your mix then pour into the pan.

     ·         Try to avoid having too many berries touching each    
      other, or just too many berries in general! If this is the
      case, the pancake will have a hard time keeping itself
      together and you may struggle when it comes to the
      flipping part!

      ·         Once the pancakes are cooked through serve stacked
        high and drizzle liberally with your choice of golden 
                                                          syrup/maple syrup or honey.

4.    Balsamic Strawberries and Syrup

Balsamic vinegar? I hear you question! That’s right. This is a match made in HEAVEN!

For this recipe all you will need is a little balsam, a punnet of strawberries, some caster sugar and a little water.

(This recipe works equally well with a Traditional English Pancake and an American Style Pancake)

·         While your pancakes are cooking in a little pan place (per person) 3 large strawberries, 2 tsps of caster sugar, 1 tbsp of water and a dash of balsamic vinegar

·         Let this simmer on the hob gently for 5 minutes.

·         Note the sugar gets EXTREMELY hot and sugar burns are worse than water burns so please be extra careful!

·         When the mixture has given off a beautiful pink syrup and the strawberries are cooked allow the mixture to cool slightly before drizzling on top of your pancakes and serving

5.    The Ultimate Chocolate Pancake


Last, but certainly not least, we have the ULTIMATE chocolate pancake. For this recipe you will require cocoa powder, a bar of dark chocolate, a little single cream and some vanilla ice-cream.

(These work best with American Pancakes, the recipe for which can be found here)

·        When you are mixing your pancakes, substitute 25g of flour for 25g of cocoa powder. This will give you a CHOCOLATE American Style Pancake!

    ·        While these are cooking place your broken chocolate in
     a ban marie (e.g. put it in a heatproof bowl over
     simmering hot water) and allow it to melt.

     ·         Once it has melted allow to cool slightly then add a  
       dribble of single cream – enough to turn it into a
       beautiful glossy sauce – I’ll let you judge how thick
       you want it!

·         Stack your chocolate pancakes high and drizzle this sauce straight on top, then finish with a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

·         Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my top 5 pancake fillings of all time. I’d love to hear your suggestions!



Personally, I have been eating SO many pancakes – trying out all of these delicious recipes for you – that I think I’ll be sticking to the Traditional English Pancake this year with a tsp of sugar and a squeeze of a lemon!



Happy Pancake Eating!