Welsh Cakes for Breakfast, Pancakes for Tea!
March 1st 2022, the day we all ate Welsh cakes for breakfast and pancakes for tea! To celebrate both events, we wanted to dig deeper into the two occasions, share some delicious recipes, and explore how you can get involved in the celebrations.
What is St David’s Day?
St David’s Day is the day we celebrate St David, the patron saint of Wales. St David died on the 1st of March 589. He was canonised by Pope Callixtus in the 12th century, and we’ve celebrated on the 1st of March ever since.
How is St David’s Day celebrated?
Children tend to go to school dressed in traditional Welsh costumes, lots of adults wear a daffodil or leek, and it’s a day of concerts, eisteddfodau and celebration of Welsh culture. Often, the national anthem will be sung, and the Welsh flag proudly displayed.
Our Maple kids ready for St Davids Day
There’s a whole host of events that take place in St David’s in West Wales, but if you can’t travel for the occasion, eating traditional Welsh food is a great way to mark the day. There are several delicious dishes to choose from, like Welsh cakes, bara brith, cawl, and glamorgan sausages.
If you fancy making your own version of the Welsh classics, BBC Good Food has an entire collection dedicated to St David’s Day recipes, and Delicious magazine has a Welsh collection too.
What is Pancake Day?
Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the day before the start of Lent. On Shrove Tuesday, you would use up your eggs and fats to make pancakes, before the traditional fasting of Lent began.
The day after Shrove Tuesday, and the first day of Lent, is known as Ash Wednesday.
Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is always 47 days before Easter Sunday, which is why the date will change each year. In 2022, Pancake Day falls on the 1st March.
What’s the best way to celebrate Pancake Day?
By making pancakes of course! Pancake style cakes come in many different forms, but a traditional English pancake is made by frying batter in a frying pan, to make a thin cake, and then serving it immediately.
Typically, the pancakes are flipped or ‘tossed’ halfway through cooking, a tradition that seems to have been around for almost as long as pancakes themselves.
Getting Creative in the Kitchen
Two foodie related celebrations on the same day seems like an opportunity that’s too good to miss! Why not get creative in the kitchen this March, and give some new recipes a go?
Perhaps you’ll swap your usual British pancakes for fluffy American pancakes with bacon and maple syrup, or maybe you’d like to swap sweet for savoury and try these cheese Welsh cakes.
Experimenting with different foods and flavours in the kitchen is a great way to relax and unwind on your own, or to bring the whole family together for a home bake-off. Cooking can teach children essential skills that will help them feel more confident in the kitchen, and it’s a fantastic activity to get the whole family off their screens.
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