We’re bringing our boozy bakes back with a bang! We think the only thing better than pancakes on Shrove Tuesday is gin-infused pancakes on Shrove Tuesday…!

We used the bold McLean’s Citrus Gin to give our pancakes a refreshing kick and incorporated the gin into a refreshing sugar syrup you can recreate yourself at home!

The recipe used makes savoury-esque pancakes so as not to be overpowered by the sweet sugar syrup – we also made easy vegan pancakes!



Ingredients – Pancakes – makes 4:

150g plain flour
30g sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200ml milk
2 tablespoons of melted butter or margarine
50ml McLean’s Citrus Gin

Ingredients – Sugar Syrup:

100ml warm water
75g sugar
50ml McLean’s Citrus Gin

Substitutions:

While baking is a bit of a science – there are some substitutions you can make if you don’t have all the ingredients – sometimes mix & match can yield great results! If you’re not a frequent baker, there’s no need to buy big tubs of things that’ll just go to waste in your cupboard. See below for some substitutions we’ve made in the past that still give great results!

Sugar – we used white granulated sugar but caster sugar and even brown sugar would work here. Brown sugar isn’t as sugary-sweet so can be used in the same quantity above (30g) to reduce the sweetness or increase the amount based on your taste. Fruit sugar also works really well - adjust accordingly based on sweetness – white to fruit sugar is usually around a 3:1 ratio so 10g of fruit sugar would give a similar sweetness.

Baking Soda – Baking powder can take the place of baking soda in this recipe.

Lemon Juice – Apple Cider Vinegar can be subbed for lemon juice.

Egg – In place of an egg, you can use 50ml of neutral oil (vegetable and sunflower are most common).


Method:

1. Sieve the flour into your mixing bowl and add all your dry ingredients (sugar, baking soda and salt) and mix until combined.

2. Combine all wet ingredients (milk, egg, butter, lemon juice, vanilla extract and gin) in a separate bowl or jug and whisk until smooth.

3. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the mixing bowl until fully incorporated.

4. Make a start on the sugar syrup by adding the warm water and sugar to a saucepan and heat over a medium heat, mixing occasionally.

5. Heat your frying pan to a low to medium heat and add a teaspoon of oil or butter/margarine to fry with.

6. Add a ladle of pancake mix to the middle of the pan and allow to cook until the surface is mostly covered in bubbles.

7. TIME TO FLIP! If you’re feeling very adventurous, you can attempt a one-handed flip, we hear the method is all in the wrist but weren’t adventurous enough to try it – maybe next time! We flipped using a spatula by sliding it under the pancake slowly and gently before swiftly turning it.

8. Allow to heat through before serving. The side of the pancake touching the pan should be rigid enough to flip within a minute to let you see how golden your pancakes are and decide when to serve.

9. Continue to cook through both sides of the pancake until golden brown before serving.

10. Repeat steps 5-9 for the remaining batter mix which should yield 4 decent sized pancakes.

11. While you fry your remaining pancakes, heat the sugar syrup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cover and leave for 5 minutes. When the syrup is your desired consistency, add 50ml of McLean’s Citrus Gin and allow to simmer for a further few minutes, mixing frequently.

12. Remove your gin-infused sugar syrup from the heat and allow to cool slightly before serving.

13. To serve, pile your pancakes on a plate and drizzle with sugar syrup, adding more syrup as you go is recommended but ultimately optional. Sharing is also optional!


The light refreshing syrup brings out the lemon and McLean’s Citrus Gin from the pancakes, highlighting the sweet orange notes and refreshing lemony tartness.