Coffee Pancakes. Mmm.

Happy Pancake Day! Let's remind ourselves of the history behind Pancake Day, or should we say, Shrove Tuesday.

Shrove Tuesday is the traditional feast day before the start of Lent on Ash Wednesday. Lent, the 40 days that lead up to Easter, was traditionally a time of fasting and on Shrove Tuesday, Anglo-Saxon Christians went to confession and were "shriven" (absolved from their sins). A bell would be rung to call people to confession. This came to be called the ''Pancake Bell" and is still rung to this very day.

Shrove Tuesday was the last opportunity to use up eggs and fats before embarking on the Lenten fast and pancakes were the perfect way of using up these ingredients.

Thanks to history and tradition we now all get to enjoy delicious stacks on pancakes once a year, guilt-free. Hoorah!

Being coffee obsessed, of course our first thought was 'Coffee Pancakes'. Delicious, right? We found a fabulous recipe for American Style Coffee Pancakes. Crack those eggs and give the following recipe ago...

American Style Coffee Pancakes (Makes 8)

• 2 tbsp Instant Coffee
• 1 Egg
• 225ml Milk
• 150g Plain Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1½ tsp Sugar
• Toppings of your choice!

1. In a bowl, beat together the egg, milk and instant coffee.
2. Add the flower, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and sugar. Keep mixing until combined and smooth.
3. Heat your frying pan on a medium to low heat and add a little butter of oil to stop the pancakes from sticking.
4. Spoon out a portion of batter to the pan and cook. The mixture will make 8 pancakes, so you can cook 2 or 3 at a time depending on the size of your pan.
5. Cook until bubbles form along the sides and in the centre of the pancakes, then flip them over and cook on the opposite side until they are golden brown.
6. Drizzle with some maple syrup, or any topping of your choice and enjoy!
7. TIP - Want to keep your pancakes warm while you make them all? Pre-heat the oven on a low heat and stack them in the oven until you're finished cooking.

We'd love to see your pancake photos. Tag us in your Instagram photos @allied_drinks.