Happy pancake day everyone! We’re celebrating with some animal and sunshine pancakes, here’s my super simple recipe….

I used American pancake recipe as they are easier to make fun shapes, and also taste yummy!

You need:

• 140g self raising flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 140ml milk
• 1 large egg, slightly beaten
• Olive oil or butter for cooking

For decorating:

• Chocolate (melted)
• Rasins
• Icing Hearts
• Chocolate drop
• Blueberries

Method:

I used a variety of circular cookie cutters to create different parts of the animals and sunshine, if you don’t have the cookie cutters just use an upside down bowl or cup depending on the size you want 🙂

1) Weigh out ingredients

2) Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl.

3)  Lightly whisk together the milk and egg

4) Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, and then using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps you might have will soon disappear with a little mixing.

5) Let the batter stand for a few minutes.

6) Heat pan with a little oil (pan has to be very hot) and then add one ladle of mixture and spread into a circular pattern.

7) Using spatula flip the pancake after the bottom has browned slightly, and cook until both sides are browned and the pancake is cooked in the middle.

To make a variety of pancake animals you can make a batch and keep them warm in the oven.

And now the creative bit!

Sunshine

I used the largest cookie cutter to make the perfect circle centre for the sun, I only needed to cut a little and ate the edges.

Then simple sliced three strawberries thinly to make the rays, placed them around the pancake, and then accessorised with blueberries and chocolate bits- yummy!

Piggy Pancake

The pig is another easy one to make! Here’s how: 

Use a large cookie cutter to make the perfect circle face, then choose a smaller one to cut the nose, the ears are using the smaller cookie cutter again and then I just cut the circle in half.  The eyes are chocolate bits, raisins would work just as well and the nostrils are my trust icing hearts.

Ladybird

How to make this lovely little bug:

Using the large round circular cookie cutter for the body, and then used it again on another whole pancake for the wings and then sliced the second circle in half and placed them on the body, opened slightly.  The head is a medium sized cookie cutter  and the eyes and antennae I drew on with a fork, a little melted chocolate and my icing hearts. the spots are just chocolate bits- yummy!

Cat:

This one is a little more time consuming, but my little ones loved it!

Again the large cookie cutter for the face shape, then 2 1/2 small circles to make the cheeks and mouth, and then the ears I cut different shapes using a knife, they are just two triangles with two smaller (burnt) pieces as the inner ear.

The eyes are slices of banana with raisins as the pupils and I drew the whiskers and mouth detail using meted chocolate and a fork.

Have fun… and send us any pancakes you have made to our Facebook Wall, I thoroughly enjoyed eating all the ones we made!