This post is a slightly belated celebration of Shove Tuesday, or pancake day. I don’t know quite why, but pancakes have been one of my very favourite foods since I was a little. I used to beg my Dad to make them for me every Saturday morning. Now, of course, I can make my own, and one of the best things about pancakes is that they’re incredibly easy to make. This recipe is particularly easy as you don’t need to mess around with weighing the ingredients – as long as you make sure that you use the same cup for both recipes they’ll be fine.

Pancakes cooking over an open fire

1 cup plain flour

1 egg

1 cup milk

1. Measure the flour into the biggest bowl you have.
2. Make a well in the centre, crack the egg into it an break the yolk with a fork.
3. Pour the milk into the well.
4. Whisk the mixture together, starting in the middle and gradually incorporating flour until you have a smooth batter.

Now you have the batter you can cook the pancakes. The most sensible way to do this is to pour a ladleful into a hot, oiled frying pan, cook it until golden on one side then flip and cook for a couple more minutes, before serving immediately with your favourite filling.

A great alternative way to cook the batter to turn them into proper “Cara Vancakes” . You take a clean, empty baked bean tin, and bang about 5 holes around the sides for ventilation. Then take a tea light, light it on a fireproof surface and carefully place the bean tin over the top of it. Wipe an oiled piece of kitchen roll over the top of the tin, and carefully pour a tablespoon of the batter on top of the tin. It will take a little while to cook, but you can tell the first side is done when bubbles appear on the top. Flip carefully using a fork, cook for another couple of minutes and serve. This way is very labour intensive and not that practical, but kids will love cooking like this and I still just think they taste best this way!

I like them best with just a squeeze of lemon and some sugar, or maybe rolled around a dollop of strawberry jam, but I can see that melted chocolate would make a fantastic filling too! What are your favourite pancake toppings?

As always, cooking, especially in a caravan, brings dangers, and these should always be insured against with Caravan Insurance.