Fun and interesting facts about Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday: what it means, where it is celebrating + a perfect recipe for French style pancakes (crepes) to mark the day. Updated 2021.
What do you call the day before Ash Wednesday?
Growing up in Italy, I call it Martedi’ Grasso, the Italian for Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) but here in Ireland I learned two new ways of referring to this day: Pancake Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday.
These are some fun and interesting facts about this day, its name and tips for marking is according to tradition.
Table of Contents
When is Pancake Tuesday in 2021?
In 2021, Pancake Tuesday is on Tuesday 16 of February,
What is Shrove Tuesday: Pancake Tuesday history
Shrove Tuesday aka Pancake Tuesday is the the day before Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the beginning of the 4 days of Christian Lent.
It is also the day day that marks the end of Carnival season and a day traditionally associated with feasting, eating of caloric food and excessive celebrations, something that is expressed around the world with parades, festivals and sometimes over the top carnival celebrations.
The origin and rational of these celebrations can be found in the spirit of the season.
The 40 days of Lent are, for the Christian community, a time to remember the Passion of the Christ. It is a time of penitence and abstinence, a time for giving things up, and since early Christian times this abstinence is expressed through the following of a restricted diet, usually avoiding the consumption of meat and high fat foods.
Fasting was a common religious practice also in pre-Christian times but such a prolonged period of abstinence posed a bit of a conflict.
At a time when preservation of food wasn’t easy, how to make sure that 40 days of abstinence wouldn’t turn into a waste of leftover food?
If you add to this the fact that this time happened at the end of the winter, before the spring would bring new crops and produce, the conundrum was even bigger a so a new tradition started.
The day before the beginning of Lent, after having visited a priest and having sins absolved (‘shrove’ means to be absolved from sins), pancakes would be prepared, as a way to use up eggs and fatty dairy products before having to give them up.
The tradition became sticky and the Anglo-Saxon part of the work still celebrates it.
I personally like pancakes and while I still prepare Italian frappe for carnival, I will have no problem in partaking in this feast as well!
My favourite kind of pancakes are the ones prepared French style (thin and non-spongy) so this is the recipe I am going to make and share today.
ant to virtually join me? This is how I make them.
Best Ever pancake recipe
Ingredients for about 24 crêpes (depending on the size of pan and how thick you like them) – find the recipe in cups in the recipe card at the end of this post!
French crêpes ingredients
- 250 gr white flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 30 gr caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 0.5 litre milk (room temperature)
- 60 gr butter
- A small drop of vegetable oil or butter for cooking
In a bowl, put the flour, the eggs and the caster sugar. Mix well and then add the milk slowly to the mixture, stirring all the time to make a smooth batter. I use a wooden spoon to mix, but if you have a whisk, that may be better as helps it come out smoother.
As soon as this is ready, cook the butter until just nut-brown and then add to the mixture: mix quickly and then set to rest outside of the fridge for about 1 hour. Many recipes do not call for leaving the batter to rest, but I do find there is a distinctive difference in texture when you do take the time to follow this step and the result is significantly better.
When you are ready to start cooking your pancakes, heat a non stick pan, add a tiny amount of vegetable oil (this might not be needed, depending on the pan you have) and heat until very hot. With a big spoon, pour a small amount of the batter in the pan and coat the bottom of it with it. Make sure you just pour enough batter to make a very thin pancake: if you pour too much, it will come out soggy instead of crisp and will be way less yummy.
Cook your pancake until brown on both sides: you can use a spatula to flip it, but a good pan will not allow it to stick, making the cooking and the turning of the pancake very easy.
When ready, put the pancake on a large plate off the heat and sprinkle with some sugar. Then, move on to make the next pancake and, when ready, take it off the heat and put it on top of the first one: the sugar you sprinkle will prevent them from sticking to each other. Keep cooking pancakes until you used all the batter.
Dress with any sweet treat you fancy and serve hot!
How to make French style pancakes: delicious recipe for crêpes

An easy to make, delicious decipe for thin pacake, French style! A delicious treat for adults and kids, French crepes are sweet pancakes you can dress with sugar, chocolale, lemon juice, jam or fruit for a delicious breakfast or afternoon snack. Make them for Shrove tuesday aka Pancake Tuesday for a wonderful carniva treat for kids and adults
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour white flour
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 generous tbs caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups milk (room temperature)
- 0/2 cups butter
- A small drop of vegetable oil or butter for cooking
Instructions
In a bowl, put the flour, the eggs and the caster sugar.
Mix well and then add the milk slowly to the mixture, stirring all the time to make a smooth batter. I use a wooden spoon to mix, but if you have a whisk, that may be better as helps it come out smoother.
As soon as this is ready, cook the butter until just nut-brown and then add to the mixture: mix quickly and then set to rest outside of the fridge for about 1 hour.
Many recipes do not call for leaving the batter to rest, but I do find there is a distinctive difference in texture when you do take the time to follow this step and the result is significantly better.
When you are ready to start cooking your pancakes, heat a non stick pan, add a tiny amount of vegetable oil (this might not be needed, depending on the pan you have) and heat until very hot. With a big spoon, pour a small amount of the batter in the pan and coat the bottom of it with it.
Make sure you just pour enough batter to make a very thin pancake: if you pour too much, it will come out soggy instead of crisp and will be way less yummy.
Cook your pancake until brown on both sides: you can use a spatula to flip it, but a good pan will not allow it to stick, making the cooking and the turning of the pancake very easy.
When ready, put the pancake on a large plate off the heat and sprinkle with some sugar. Then, move on to make the next pancake and, when ready, take it off the heat and put it on top of the first one: the sugar you sprinkle will prevent them from sticking to each other. Keep cooking pancakes until you used all the batter.
Dress with any sweet treat you fancy and serve hot!
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