#MapleVLemon - The Pancake Day Challenge

Today is Pancake Day, the one day of the year when eating an excess of pancakes is deemed acceptable.  Freddy and Kizzy love pancakes and need no encouragement when it comes to consuming them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Making a big batch of pancake batter and cooking them up for the family is a tradition that we really enjoy.  The kids wait patiently for each pancake to be tossed and served before adding their own topping.  

This year we have taken part in the #MapleVLemon challenge with Clarks.  I gave everybody a choice between traditional lemon juice and white sugar or maple syrup as a topping for their pancakes that we made for a lovely Pancake Day brunch. 

Maple syrup contains 45% less sugar gram for gram than refined sugar, making it the healthier choice.  But would it prove to be the most popular choice for my family?

I had both of the toppings laid out on the table and it didn't take long for both Kizzy and Freddy to choose maple syrup as their topping of choice, squeezing it liberally on top of their pancakes.  In fact, the lemon juice and sugar option remained redundant.  The children loved the taste, texture and sweetness of the maple syrup. And Freddy loved getting to squeeze it out of the bottle.

I think it is safe to say that in the #MapleVLemon challenge, my family definitely took the side of Team Maple.  Both Ian and myself also opted for the maple syrup, which is an ingredient I use quite regularly in recipes.  

Of the eight pancakes we made, the maple syrup to lemon juice ratio was 8:0.  A resounding success for our Clarks Maple Syrup.

For some other ideas for pancake toppings and fillings, take a look at this blog post I previously wrote for Clarks Maple Syrup with recipe ideas for breakfast, dinner and dessert pancakes, all featuring maple syrup as an ingredient.


Posts written in conjunction with Clark's Maple Syrup but all opinions and recipe ideas are my own.

Pancake Day with Lyle's Golden Syrup

If you are looking for something sweet and scrummy to serve with your pancakes on Shrove Tuesday then look no further than these easy to squeeze Lyle's Golden Syrup bottles in Original Golden Syrup and Maple Flavoured Golden Syrup varieties. Priced at just £1 each you can find them in supermarkets ready for Pancake Day!  Just squeeze over your freshly cooked pancakes and enjoy! 

If you are looking fpr a super simple pancake recipe to serve up with your Lyle's Golden Syrup, here is a video of Kizzy making No Recipe Pancakes.  Great for the kids to make as all they need is a cup to measure out equal parts flour and milk, then add an egg and mix together.


                                

Kid Friendly Recipes from The Kids Only Cookbook

We were sent the Kids Only Cookbook by Sue Quinn to try out.  The book is a large size hardback designed to encourage kids into the kitchen.  The unique cartoon style presentation of the book is filled with over 300 full colour photos which will appeal to children.  Little chefs Ruby and Ben demonstrate the recipes and make the ideas really accessible to children.  The recipes are a lot of fun and each one teaches a culinary technique.  Adult Alerts appear throughout the book at potentially dangerous steps to ensure the kids stay safe, but mostly the kids can work independently. Captions and speech bubbles make the recipes really engaging to kids.  Top Tips and Epic Fail warnings are also included to add to the kid appeal.  The design of the book is really quite in-your-face and full on, making cooking look exciting and fresh.

Unfortunately for us, a lot of the recipes involve meat and fish, so it is not the best choice for vegetarian kids. Saying that, there are some good veggie friendly recipes within the pages and other recipes can be adapted to make them suitable.  So we were able to find some good ideas for things to bake in the book.

Many of the recipes are really unique and imaginative.  The Sticky Toffee Pudding in a Jar and the Kick and Roll Tin Can Ice Cream are truly amazing.  Here is a video of one of the recipes being demonstrated by the little chefs.  They make Chocolate Meringue Kisses - and the way they separate the egg is genius!!

                       

We were challenged to do our own video using my own little chefs, Ella, Kizzy and Freddy to demonstrate how to make something from the book.  Kizzy made No-Recipe Pancakes and Freddy made Fairy Bread, helped by his big sister Ella.  The recipes we chose were really easy to do and the children liked the way the recipes were presented in the book.

Here are our videos!

                        

                         

You can buy The Kids Only Cookbook from Amazon currently priced at £9.09 (RRP £12.99)

Pancake Day!

I have eaten my body weight in pancakes.  Chocolate pancakes with Nutella and Scotch pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream.  What a lot of stodgy, batter-y goodness!  I've over indulged but my belly is happy...it's the little pleasures that make life worth living!

Pancakes with Maple Syrup

I love getting in the kitchen with the kids and getting our pancake production line in full swing: mixing, frying, tossing, topping and eating!  Fred wasn't too impressed with his pancake, but I think he was expecting cupcakes making the flat little offering a disappointment!

However, the rest of us had his share!

Pancakes!

I hope you had a good Pancake Day and enjoyed your own carb-laden treats today, however you enjoyed them!  Next stop....Lent!