Buttery Pancakes With Lemon and Sugar

Recipe from Ahoy Cafe

Adapted by Matt Haines

Published Feb. 15, 2023

Buttery Pancakes With Lemon and Sugar
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
4(199)
Comments
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Historically, on the day preceding Lent, the shriving bell rang in towns throughout Ireland and Great Britain, calling parishioners to church to be absolved from their sins. The bell is less important in modern times on Shrove Tuesday, and what is eaten has taken center stage, which is why many now call the day Pancake Day or Pancake Tuesday. The pancake accomplishes the annual Christian tradition of finishing animal products like butter and eggs just before they become forbidden during the long fast. This traditional Irish pancake recipe, shared by Claire Keeney and her team at Ahoy Cafe in Killybegs, Ireland, is simple and delicious. The thin, delicate pancakes are topped with butter, sugar and a bright burst of lemon. —Matt Haines

Featured in: Mardi Gras, Fastnacht or Shrove Tuesday, It’s All About the Food

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Ingredients

Yield:Approximately 8 pancakes
  • ¾cup plus 2 tablespoons/114 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1egg 
  • 1cup plus 2 tablespoons/275 milliliters whole milk
  • 3tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying
  • Unsalted butter (preferably Kerrygold), as needed for cooking and serving
  • Lemon slices and granulated sugar, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

200 calories; 9 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 101 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Pass the flour, baking powder and salt through a sieve into a medium bowl. Add egg and about half the milk; beat well. Add the remaining milk, beat again, and leave the batter to stand for 10 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a large nonstick pan and turn the heat to high. When hot, pour a thin layer of batter (about 3 tablespoons) into the pan. You should be able to fit two or three pancakes in a large pan.

  3. Step 3

    Add a tablespoon of butter into the pan for flavor as the pancakes are cooking and fry until bubbles appear on the top of the batter, about 1½ minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Lower the temperature to medium and flip the pancakes. Fry until golden brown, about 1 minute, then transfer to a plate.

  5. Step 5

    Repeat the process until all the batter is used, adding oil and butter as needed and wiping out any oil in the pan that becomes too dark along the way. The heat should be turned to high just before more batter is added, but then lowered to medium just before the pancakes are flipped.

  6. Step 6

    Serve each pancake with a pat of butter, a lemon slice and a generous sprinkling of sugar.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
199 user ratings
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Comments

Molly

We always use confectionary sugar instead of regular sugar and we squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the pancake-never just a slice. We always ad a bit of nutmeg to the batter as well but that's optional of course. But this is the Irish pancake not the Shove Tuesday one. You should show both recipes-they are not the same.

Kim P

The fresh lemon juice is very tart on top of the unsweetened batter; needed about 2 tsp of sugar per pancake to get a nice lemon pastry taste. Next time will add 1 tbl of sugar to the batter.

RonK

This is also a traditional German crepe dish: Over a thin crepe, melt butter, drizzle with lemon juice, then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Delicious.

Barbara

Has anyone tried adding lemon zest to the batter & skip lemon added after cooked? Seems lemon juice would be too sour/acid.

Bruno

I Added Zest Of One Lemon And Juice Of Half It Makes The Pancakes Very Light And Citrusy

Bruno

Won’t the batter become too watery when you add the rest of the milk after there is already a mass inside the bowl

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Credits

Recipe from Ahoy Cafe, Killybegs, Ireland

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