I was looking forward to pancake day this year after last year's lockdown pancake day, but the TFL tube strikes have put an end to that. A few weeks ago, I had booked a table to indulge in some pancakes this afternoon, and I was planning to watch a pancake day race that I have not seen previously. Unfortunately, I've had to cancel my booking at the cafe/restaurant today; I did not realise that there was a TFL tube strike until the last minute. All of the tube lines are suspended except for a few stations at the end of the central line but falling short of going central. So, I am stuck at home today.
Luckily, though, I had a leftover packet of pancake mix that I purchased last year from The Little Pancake Company. I had to go out to get some milk, though, as it isn't something I keep stocked at home. I tried to venture out to the shops by car, but the traffic was horrendous. I decided to turn back before I was stuck in the traffic, and then I walked to the shops. Unfortunately, all of the milk was sold out except for a few half pints of the skimmed milk. I opted for single cream instead, and I purchased double cream to make my own whipped cream. I already had eggs, strawberries, and maple syrup.
The pancake mix contained dark and white chocolates, and the pancakes were really delicious, blending well with the maple syrup, strawberries, and whipped cream. I'm hoping that next year will be more normal without TFL underground strikes. I feel bad about cafes and restaurants today (including the booking that I had to cancel) because today is always a popular day for them, and losing business due to TFL after the pandemic has to be really terrible.
At least my pancakes turned out to be nice and look nice this year when comparing to last year's pancakes, which I thought looked like "cow patties". One of my ex-colleagues who took a lot of food photographs told me to purchase a miniature frying pan, and the miniature frying pan worked wonders. I am not a chef, so the presentation is not perfect, but they did not look too bad. But yes, they do look home-made. I realise that you can only see the finished product in my photograph with piles of whipped cream and strawberries on top.
Although today feels like a write-off, I will be making a delayed pancake day visit to the restaurant/cafe that I had booked, so keep checking back. The pancake races will have to wait for a new year, though. In the meantime, you can read about past Pancake Days and Pancake Day races that I featured on this blog below:
- Lockdown Pancake Day 2021 (2021)
- Happy Pancake Day! Pancakes at Pancs, Covent Garden (2020)
- Pancakes: "Crème de la Crêpe" in Covent Garden (2020)
- Pancake Day at "Where the Pancakes Are" in Flat Iron Square, (Borough, London) (2019)
- Leadenhall Market Pancake Day Race (2019)
- Pancake Day at Outsider Tart (Chiswick, London) (2018)
- Great Spitalfields Pancake Day Race 2017 (2017)
- Happy Pancake Day - Balan's Soho Society (Westfield)! (2016)
- Great Spitalfields Pancake Day Race 2015 (2015)
- Great Spitalfields Pancake Day Race 2014 (2014)
- Great Spitalfields Pancake Day Race 2013 (2013)
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