Shrove Tuesday and my mother would get out a special measuring jug, the likes of which were never seen at any other time of the year. A big, white, plastic jug with red writing measuring out the sides. Out would come the two frying pans, a clatter of plates while a clump of butter, a bowl of sugar and a Jif plastic lemon containing lemon juice would be placed on the table.

Once the batter was made, the annual ritual would begin. Mum would fry the most delicious, large, spongy, pancakes that would be golden brown on both sides. And she would keep making them until the batter was gone or we, as children, admitted defeat as one of us tried to out eat the other.

And amongst those sepia frayed pages, I found the recipe which she sized up to fill that jug. I have eaten many in my time but none as good as those pancakes I ate at my mother’s kitchen table, my legs swinging between the legs of the stool.

Ingredients
2 ½ cups, plain flour
2 teaspoons, Baking Powder
¼ teaspoon, salt
2 tablespoons. Sugar
1 egg
Enough milk to make a thin batter
3 tablespoons, butter

Method
1. Heat a knob of butter in the pan until hot
2. Add batter to cover the base of the pan
3. Cook for a couple of minutes before turning over
3. Cook for another couple of minutes until cooked