Pancake Day: 5 cooking essentials you need to make the perfect pancakes

It’s Pancake Day 2024! Also referred to as Shrove Tuesday, Pancake Day is the traditional feasting day before the start of Lent which marks the lead-up to the Easter holiday.

Whether you’re religious or not, Pancake Day is celebrated every year with stacks on stacks of delicious savoury and sweet pancakes – as if we needed more of a reason to eat pancakes in the first place! Making pancakes is relatively easy, but if you don’t have the right appliances or utensils at the ready, you could be left with a burnt sticky mess, rather than a picture-worthy pile of pancakes.

For fluffy American-style pancakes or French-inspired crepes, these are the five cooking essentials you need to make the most delicious pancakes this Shrove Tuesday and beyond.

1. Le Creuset Crêpe pan 

Using the best non-stick frying pan means your crêpes or pancakes are less likely to stick to the bottom, making it easier for you to remove them in one piece. The best pan we’ve found for the job is the Le Creuset Toughened Non-Stick Crêpe Pan, a firm favourite for those who prefer thinner pancakes. The pan has a strong non-stick surface which is abrasion resistant and allows for healthier cooking, as you don’t need to add too much butter or oil to it. Not only does this make clean-up simple and stress-free but Le Creuset makes all its products using high quality enamelled materials that will last a lifetime.

2. ProCook egg rings

If you prefer thicker pancakes or smaller bitesize ones for children, then you need the ProCook Non-stick Egg Rings. Made of strong cast aluminium, these egg rings are compatible with most frying pans, and cleverly sit on the surface so you can make perfectly round mini-pancakes, fried eggs, burgers, fishcakes and much more. Each ring measures 9cm, and you can use them separately or together as a set of four if you’re in a hurry… or have inpatient family members calling for more pancakes.

3. KitchenAid K150 blender

While you can go the traditional route and make your pancake batter using a mixing bowl and whisk, try using one of the best blenders instead for this Shrove Tuesday. Making your batter in a blender is quick, easy and results in super smooth batter without any flour lumps. KitchenAid has a powerful and reliable range of blender options, including the KitchenAid K150 Blender which easily crushes ice with its three-part vortex blending system, so it’s sure to take on pancake batter with ease.

4. Mason Cash batter bowl

There’s nothing wrong with doing things by hand so if you prefer to mix your batter in a bowl, upgrade to the Mason Cash Batter Bowl this Pancake Day. With a 1.9-litre capacity, this bowl can be used for any cooking task you have, particularly cake mix and pancake batter. The best thing about the Mason Cash Batter Bowl is its handle and lip which is easy to lift and pour your mixture directly into the pan.

5. OXO Good Grips Pancake Turner

For flipping and turning your pancakes, you need a spatula like the OXO Good Grips Pancake Turner. This pancake turner is thin and flexible so it easily glides beneath food, including pancakes, burgers and eggs. Made of high quality silicone, the OXO Good Grips Pancake Turner is slim, sturdy and heat resistant so it can easily tackle any tasks you throw at it.

Bonus: An air fryer

@currys

♬ original sound - kardashianshulu

As the best air fryers have completely taken over the kitchen, it’s fairly likely that someone will be using theirs to make pancakes this year. As air fryers don’t use very much oil, you might be surprised to hear that you can make pancakes using an air fryer – all you need is to make your batter and layer them up in your air fryer between sheets of parchment paper. Take a look at how to make pancakes in an air fryer for all the details.