Shrove Tuesday, more commonly known as Pancake Day, is next week (Tuesday 13th February 2024 to be precise!) and according to new research we’ve done, Google searches for “pancake topping ideas” are already ramping up, with an increase of 52% compared to this time last year. We also discovered that searches for “best pan for pancakes” are up 24% across the past three months.
Whilst Shrove Tuesday traditionally marks a day of feasting for Christians all around the world (ahead of the beginning of Lent), the day itself is now more widely celebrated by Brits, with people up and down the country cooking up a storm in the kitchen and enjoying a wide variety of pancakes and toppings.
Sweet or savoury, thick or thin, Pancakes are an extremely versatile dish, and as such, there are endless options to choose from. With this in mind, we quizzed 2,000 UK adults to find out what they’d be topping their pancakes with on February 23rd.
Read on to find out which pancake topping we just can’t live without – we’ll give you a clue, for thousands of Brits, pancakes just wouldn’t be complete without this favourite breakfast item...
The nation’s favourite pancake toppings
Topping the list as well as topping the pancakes of a third of Brits (34%), was the classic combination of lemon juice and sugar – one of our favourites too!
Other popular pancake accompaniments UK adults are most likely going to be reaching for this Pancake Day include maple syrup or honey (8%), Nutella or chocolate chips (8%), Nutella and banana (6%), and just a sprinkling on sugar (5%).
The UK's Top 10 Favourite Pancake Day Toppings:
- Lemon juice and sugar (34%)
- Maple syrup or Honey (8%)
- Nutella or Chocolate chips (7%)
- Nutella and banana (6%)
- Sugar only (6%)
- Lemon juice only (4%)
- Sugar and golden syrup (4%)
- Ham and cheese or Vegetarian alternative (4%)
- Biscoff spread (3%)
- Cheese (2%)
It appears that many of us have somewhat of a sweet tooth, with seven out of the ten most popular pancake toppings on the sweeter side. That said, the most notable non-sweet options were found to be lemon juice only (4%), or ham and cheese or a vegetarian alternative (4%).
Baked beans, Ketchup, and Branston Pickle?!
Our survey revealed some rather unconventional choices when it came to pancake toppings, with more than 530,000 UK adults admitting that baked beans are an absolute must when it comes to their pancakes¹. Two percent of Manchester residents said this was their favoured pancake topping.
Equally unique was the further half a million Brits who told us they would even opt for condiments or spreads such as Marmite, mayo, ketchup, or brown sauce atop their pancakes². These were most popular amongst people living in Bristol and Nottingham, with three per cent of residents in each of the cities sharing that they top their pancakes with condiments or spreads of this ilk.
Meanwhile, three per cent of Norwich residents prefer an American inspired topping, voting for PB&J (peanut butter and jelly aka jam) as their topping of choice
Some of the more unusual choices that the nation like to try included Branston pickle, and a combination of peanut butter and ice cream.
Traditional Shrove Tuesday recipe
For those of you who are excited about Pancake Day but unsure where to begin, fear not as we’re sharing our secret recipe for creating delicious pancakes at home with ease.
- Try our Traditional Pancake Recipe
- For a gluten-free variation on the above here is our GF Pancake recipe
- And finally, for our Vegan followers, check out this vegan variation of a pancake recipe.
The key to creating the perfect pancakes at home? Investing in the perfect pan!
As a brand, we are keen to learn more about the nation’s approaches to cooking. While some of the topping choices are more common than others, it is great to see so many people willing to experiment in the kitchen – despite some of the choices being somewhat of an acquired taste.
First and foremost, when tackling any cooking or baking at home, ensuring you have the right equipment for the job is key, and what better place to start then with a pan?
Investing in excellent performing non-stick cookware will not only help you to perfect those pancakes, but also make cooking up your favourite dishes in the months and years following is a breeze.
Alongside opting for a pan with non-stick technology, fine-tuning your flipping skills ahead of the big day will certainly help, and take it from us, it’s all in the wrist action!
We are always curious to see the dishes you can make with our Circulon pans, so make sure to share pictures of your pancakes with us on social media. You can find us here:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/circulonuk
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/circulonuk/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CirculonUK
Sources and Methodology
- Survey of 2,000 UK adults correct as of January 2023
- Sum of ¹ and ² half a million UK adults was determined by calculating 1% (no. of participants who voted baked beans/marmite, ketchup and brown sauce as their favourite pancake toppings) against the UK adult population (53,369,083) = 533,690 people
- Google Search Trend Data correct as of 23.1.2023
