Shrove Tuesday is the day before the start of Lent, a period of reflection before Easter in the Christian religion. It's also known as Pancake Day because it's traditional to enjoy them on this date.

Encyclopedia Britannica explains that this custom came about because the recipe for pancakes calls for eggs, sugar and fat, which are “commonly forbidden during the Lenten fast”, and so making them was a tasty way of using up these ingredients so they wouldn't go to waste.

Whether you'll be making crepes or crumpets this Pancake Day, here's the recipe for a flippin' good batter that'll work for both.

TWO-IN-ONE CREPE/CRUMPET RECIPE

Makes: about 40 crumpets or 20 pancakes

Ingredients:

280g (2 cups) cake flour

5ml (1 tsp) baking powder

500ml (2 cups) milk

3 extra-large eggs

15ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil, plus extra for frying

To make crumpets:

1. Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor or in a bowl with an electric stick blender.
2. For best results, refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes before using.
3. Preheat a non-stick pancake pan (or use an ordinary non-stick frying pan). Pour a little vegetable into the hot pan, pouring off the excess.
4. Spoon some of the batter into the pan to form crumpets about the diameter of a large mug — or a saucer if you prefer them bigger. Cook over a medium heat and when lots of little bubbles appear on the surface of the crumpets, turn them and cook until golden on the other side.
5. Repeat to use up the remaining batter. The best way to keeping the cooked crumpets warm while you cook the rest in batches it to wrap them in a clean dishcloth in a bowl.
6. Serve the crumpets with butter, honey or syrup.

To make crepes:

1. Blitz all the ingredients together in a food processor or in a bowl with an electric stick blender, adding 250ml (1 cup) water to create a thinner batter.
2. For best results, refrigerate the batter for at least 30 minutes, or preferable two hours, before using.
3. Preheat a non-stick pancake pan (or use an ordinary non-stick frying pan). Pour a little vegetable into the hot pan, pouring off the excess.
4. For uniformity in size use a ladle or large spoon to spoon the batter into the pan, swirling it to cover the base. Cook over a medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble, then carefully flip or turn the pancake with an egg lifter and cook until the other side is golden. A tip is to loosen the edges slightly before flipping the pancake, if the edges don't loosen it needs another 1-2 minutes to cook before turning.
5. Repeat to use up the remaining batter. The best way to keeping the cooked crepes warm while you cook the rest in batches it to wrap them in a clean dishcloth in a bowl.
6. Serve the crepes sprinkled with a mixture of cinnamon and sugar and a dash of fresh lemon juice.

• Shrove Tuesday is celebrated on February 16 2021.

• This recipe is adapted from one by Callie Maritz and Mari-louis Guy that originally appeared on TimesLIVE.