Come tell me I’m an awful mum

[PancakeDisaster]

Pancake day obviously

I always dread it. I’m a fairly ok cook but there are two things I can’t do, fry anything or mash anything. I burn fried stuff or undercook it and I can never get none lumpy mash.

I had ago at making pancakes for DD and I.

Whatever I did it didn’t work as it came out lumpy and uncooked in the middle.

DD (aged 7) is now crying saying all her friends at school will be having pancakes and it’s not fair – she’s right, from FB I can see at least 20 of the 26 in her class have had pancakes today. She’s stomped off to her room after telling me she hates me.

Just me and her at home so no-one else to have another attempt. I’ve used all my milk, flour and eggs trying to make them, I had several attempts.

Why am I so useless? Tell me I’m an awful mother and she’s never going to forgive me.

DD doesn't like the ready made pancakes (finds them salty) and last year I had one of those ready made batters and it still went wrong!

@Newmummytoakitten

Yes yes it is...

It is not pancake day... it is shrove Tuesday, the first or 3 days to prepare for lent, it marks when jesus went into the desert and fasted for 40 days and night's.

People can have pancake day on any of the 364/3 days of the year.... but one day of the year please call it shrove Tuesday. We don't rename other religious holidays so why rename The Catholic/c of e holy days.

As for the batter, make it in the morning, whisk it really well and then leave to settle in the fridge, a gentle stir before using. You need a very good non stick frying pan and heat up a lot. Do a first pancake which probably won't be great, and use your flat fish slice to pull away from edges, keep shaking and when rhe pancake moves as a whole you can flip over, push down on it till it stops hissing.

If a standard pan you will only need 1 ladle of mix, that's the bit that can take practice, too much it won't cook and too little it will be too thin and burn

As with most Christian festivals/occasions, there's the religious side. And there's the non religious side. Because we have amodern society where these things are part of British culture and have two ways of celebrating now. Just as some call Christmas Crimbo or Xmas, we're allowed to call Shrove Tuesday Pancake Day.

I’ve one of those stick blender things, I zizzed the mixture for pancakes and left it for an hour, a decent pan is very essential for pancakes too.

You could use it on mash too I suppose.
💐

Sorry I’m guessing between 11 pages of posts all the knacks have been covered but just in case, here they are:

-Thin batter, the consistency of single/double cream
-Whizz it really really well, at every stage as you go and at the end (add the milk little by little, add some melted butter at the end, scrape all the mixture from the sides and bottom of the bowl and re-whizz)
-melt butter (or add some of the pre-melted butter if you bothered to add it to the batter mix) and swoosh it all around the base of the pan with a kitchen towel
-get the pan really really hot but then turn it down to medium-hot once you’re ready to pour the batter
-you can put the batter in a pouring jug if it makes it easier than a ladle
-you don’t need that much batter; AS SOON AS IT HITS the pan you need to tilt the pan round so that the batter runs all around the pan and covers the base (add a bit more if you need but you need to do it ASAP)
-first one is often rubbery and rubbish if the pan hasn’t heated up properly but you’re all set!

Can your mum teach you? If I can do them then they really can’t be that hard!

Come on it’s literally 4 ingredients, google ‘easy pancakes’, you got this 😆

The fact that you had a go is the most important.

Go buy some pre made ones from the supermarket and make a fuss over the weekend...pancakes for breakfast with fruit and cream (a few hundreds and thousands always help).

X

Scotch pancakes are easier to make than normal pancakes (BBC good food recipe is very simple) and always come out well. Or could you take her out for a pancake breakfast somewhere at the weekend instead? Ultimately don't worry about it, she'll get over it and at least you had a go!

Just let her eat the efforts you’ve made - cut the raw bit out of the middle and replace with a bit of Nutella and banana.

Do you have a friend who would make some batter for you? If so, you can then suprise your DD with pancakes. Good luck x

“See if you can identify the source of your belief that you are someone who can’t cook [pancakes]”

As someone who has had to get over the idea that I’m untidy, I think there is much truth in this article:
www.theguardian.com/food/2022/mar/02/cant-cook-wont-cook-here-are-the-tips-that-saved-me-from-a-life-of-terrible-meals?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

You're not useless. I buy them from the local bakery. Your DD is being a bit unreasonable. But the ingredients again tomorrow and supervise her having a go? You're doing fine, don't worry. Pancakes just aren't your superpower

@PancakeDisaster I never used to be able to make pancakes either but my husband bought a proper pancake pan this year and amazingly I made pancakes. Maybe you need a proper pancake pan? Also this recipe doesn't need eggs so perhaps give it a try. cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/02/12/dollar-pancakes-6p-vg-v-df/?amp=1

I have found that I'm good at fluffy pancakes like American pancakes but can't make flat pancakes so could also try different batters to see which one suits you best.

I would quite like a lumpy pancake. Bit like my soggy Yorkshire pudding, which kids loved back in the day.
Now adult son made pancakes yesterday. Kitchen was a nightmare after. Tasted nice, though,
But shop bought are cheap and good if heated up and with some sugar, lemon, fruit, etc. Often did those for breakfast,
Take the less stress road.

I've almost finished the whole parenting caboodle, and am now facing teenagers therapising themselves over imagined insults.

F**k em. I spent years beating myself up over this kind of crap, and now I realise that whatever you do or don't do, they will find something to explain why they hate you and you did it all wrong anyway.

My crime is trying to get them to do housework. Apparently this has caused PTSD.

I wish I could go back in time and make my life easier by taking it all back. All the exhausted evenings I read to them while fit to drop. All the birthdays and Christmases I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to juggle work, house, home, family, festivals.

But to be fair actually I am bitter at the moment.

Don’t worry, when they’ve moved out (or fucked off) you can go round to their houses and not take muddy shoes off, eat biscuits with no plate, put cups down without a coaster.

You might even knock a cup of coffee over the sofa. Whoops.

are you making pancakes like crepes or scotch pancakes?

I go by the bubble for scotch pancakes crumpets end up like scrambled eggs or stack to the ar*e of the frying pan. I also prefer one pan over the other and use butter not oil. first few are usually iffy but taste the best

Depending on DD age get her to do it and you supervise. I cant make dumplings or shortbread but my son can

Well after today, I might just shit on their living room carpet!!

That’s the spirit!

Aw @anon666 , teenagers are ungracious basterds aren’t they. Mine are only little but the futility of all the effort is starting to dawn on me already...

(Mainly because I assumed I was a little cnut due to my environment (and kidded myself of the same for my husband) but I’ve now realised that our progeny are just destined to be of a similar ilk!)
Bloody nature’s con

I got told by my 7 year old to buy pancakes as mine are so bad
Cheeky but true!!

Your not a bad Mom at all! Me and my kids make a gingerbread house every Christmas, we have done since they were little, only problem is we are rubbish at it! But we embrace it and still love to make it and see how bad it will be that year and it’s tradition now, we even take pics to document how it’s gotten worse through the years! Those are the things that make memories, turn it into a running joke between yourselves 😀

Don’t fell awful!
Making pancakes is not that easy, I’ve been a cook in the past and still every year I attempt something different so I don’t upset the children.
The ready made tubs form the supermarket is a big no no for me as I tried twice and they are absolutely crap ! Don’t do it lol

Iceland sell both savoury and sweet pancakes on their fridges close the the yogurts/ cheese. They are there all year around are are ready to eat. They are it that bad and are slim. You can always pretend that you made them :)

This year I felt like doing it but didn’t want to spend two hours standing up after working for 10 hours. So I prepared the batter easily : 100g of flour, 2 eggs, 300ml milk. Mix it all and make the pancake.
I made lasagna style this year for the reason above. Laid a layer, put into the oven, took out, laced another layer of mince, then another layer of batter, back in the over… I made three layers in total.
Cooked for about 30 minutes and it worked. Didn’t take too long and everyone was happy. See picture 🤣
For the sweet, I bought the small ready made maple and sweet pancakes from Aldi.
Chocolate spread, condensed milk, raspberries, strawberries, and everyone was happy again.

So there’s a few tested choices for you :)
Invent another pancake day and make it special:)
I hope it helped

I am a terrible cook. But I have mastered pancakes thus

. Buy a new pan firm each pancake day. Mine was £2.50 from Aldi. Have the pan medium hot, use a minimum of oil (Fry light is good) and don’t pour too batter in.. just enough to cover the bottom of the pan. It then basically cooks itself. Flip it once. Cook briefly on the second side .. then Bob’s your uncle.

*for each pancake day

Bloody kids. They all need to get over themselves. I can make pancakes but some things I am no good at. Last time I made a dreadful food item I called them all for dinner by saying “DD, DS, come down for some shit dinner” and we all ate shit dinner and said how shit it was. They need to learn to laugh at themselves and humour anybody who needs humouring. “Hey DD I may not have great pancakes but, unlike you, I have empathy and patience in spades. Make your own or shut up”

I cannot believe people are heating oil until it smokes. Sounds so grim.

And at the poster who’s as ‘Catholic as the Pope’, but who didn’t realise Shrove Tuesday is a Catholic tradition.