Shrove Tuesday

"Hi Bubbles, wotcha doin'?" asked Crackers as he walked into the kitchen.

Bubbles seemed slightly startled as he looked up from his recipe book. "Do you know what day it is next Tuesday?" he asked in response.

"Of course!" replied Crackers, "it's Tuesday!"

"I meant apart from that," said Bubbles. "Do you know which particular Tuesday it is?"

Crackers thought for a minute. "Not really - no," he replied.

"It's Shrove Tuesday!" declared Bubbles triumphantly.

"Er, still not really sure what that is," Crackers announced slowly.

"You probably know it better as Pancake Day!" revealed Bubbles.

"Oooh! Yes!" Crackers shouted. "Pancakes! Yes, please!"

"Well I was just checking my recipe to see that we had all the ingredients," said Bubbles. "I thought perhaps I would do a quick practice before the big day. I'm going to make some now if you'd like to help?"

Crackers was extra keen to help if it meant that he could sample any finished pancakes. "I'd love to," he answered.

Custard had overheard their conversation and came into the kitchen offering to help as well. Bubbles and Crackers were pleased to have the extra pair of paws.

They busied themselves weighing out flour and mixing it with eggs, milk and sugar and whisking it into a smooth batter.

Crackers and Custard were very disappointed when Bubbles covered the bowl and put it straight into the fridge.

"I thought we were going to make pancakes?" complained Crackers immediately.

"Actually, the batter has to rest in a cool place for a while before we can turn it into pancakes," explained Bubbles. "We won't have to wait too long. Let's go and ask the others if they would like to try some test pancakes when we've made them."

Funnily enough, all the other bears seemed very enthusiastic about this idea and started discussing what they would put on their pancakes. People usually sprinkle their pancakes with sugar and lemon juice, but these were bears of course! They needed to add some of their favourite things - like berries and honey!

They laid the table with plates and spoons, together with a large assortment of extras to add - sugar (of course), lemon juice (for those who wanted to try the classic way), honey, blueberries, syrup, jam, and later they would bring some icecream out of the freezer.

A couple of hours later, after having been pestered every few minutes by hungry bears, Bubbles decided it was time to make the pancakes. He carefully took the bowl of batter out of the fridge and put it down next to the stove top. He found a small frying pan and added a knob of butter and turned on the heat. The butter started to sizzle and Bubbles turned the heat down, then added 3 tablespoons of the batter to the pan and carefully swirled it round. The other bears looked on anxiously.

"Don't spill it!" Custard cautioned.

"Are you going to try and toss it?" asked Crackers. "Please be very careful. No-one will want a pancake if it ends up on the floor!"

The other bears laughed but Bubbles was concentrating very hard before he suddenly flipped the pan up a few inches and the pancake left the pan, turned over in midair and then landed back in the pan safely. Bubbles released the breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Phew!" he announced. "That's a lot harder than it looks!"

As the pancakes were cooked, Custard and Crackers put them on plates and passed them on to the other bears who were by now sitting at the table, spoons in paw, wondering which toppings they were going to add. They didn't wonder for long - there's nothing worse than cold pancakes. They all tried different combinations of toppings and declared which were their favourites.

When everyone had been served at least their first pancake, Bubbles made sure that the pancakes he made for his helpers were especially yummy. Then he cooked one for himself and they all sat down to enjoy the lovely food.

"There's some batter left," Bubbles then announced. "Does anyone want any more?"

Everyone's paw shot into the air. Bubbles laughed. "OK," he said, "I think there is probably enough for everyone to have another one. I'll have to make sure next week that I make a bit more batter so that we can all have as many as we want."

"Maybe you could teach me how to flip the pancakes, Bubbles," suggested Crackers, "and then I can help with the cooking and you can have a well-deserved sit-down to eat."

Bubbles was very happy with that suggestion and they both disappeared into the kitchen to cook the rest of the batter.

Some of the first ones out of the kitchen were a bit misshapen, but still very tasty, and Crackers soon got the hang of it ready for the real Pancake Day on Tuesday, 13th February. They would, of course, have more pancakes then - bears love pancakes!

If you want to make your own pancakes too, click here for the recipe the bears used. Enjoy!