With Pancake Day around the corner on Tuesday March 1, there’s plenty of opportunity to experiment with toppings.
Admittedly, I’ve always been very boring with my pancake toppings, and like to stick with the classic lemon & sugar.
This year, I thought I’d go out of my comfort zone and try some quirky unusual toppings that I’ve never had before.
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Some of them were sweet, some of them were savoury, and one of them was basically disgusting.
Here’s my verdict on unusual pancake toppings:
Strawberries, balsamic vinegar & cream
We’re starting with the worst first, because who’s bizarre idea was it to put vinegar with a pancake!?
When I first saw this recipe suggestion online, I thought it wouldn’t be too bad with the cream and strawberry.
Let’s just say, I was wrong.
To look at, it was a shambles, with the brown pool of balsamic vinegar basically ruining a perfectly good pancake!
Nevertheless, I took a bite and made sure I had every flavour combined on my fork, and I was disgusted.
If you take away the potent, sickly vinegar out of the equation, it was absolutely delicious, but all in all, it was vile.
It’s not even as if I don’t like vinegar, because I do, but not mixed with cream and sweet fruit!
Rating : 1/5
Jam
I had high hopes for this one, and I had every right to, because it was absolutely delicious.
This was a suggestion on a Facebook comment after asking for quirky pancake toppings, and I was thoroughly impressed!
I’ve always been a big lover of jam, and I personally prefer a sweeter pancake, so I knew this was going to be delicious.
I opted for a sweet strawberry Bonne Maman jam and lathered it on the top of my pancake.
I had to stop myself from eating the whole thing (because I had plenty more to tuck into) because it was that delicious.
The best part? I had jam in my cupboard already, so it was a super easy topping that required minimal effort.
Rating : 5/5
Guacamole
I really wasn’t sure about this suggestion via Facebook, don’t get me wrong, I like guacamole, but on a pancake!?
I made sure I lathered a thick dollop of it over the pancake, and to be completely honest, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing of pancakes.
But I didn’t want to judge a book by its cover, so I took a bite, and I was pleasantly surprised!
It just worked. I can’t explain how or why, but it was really tasty, and I totally understand why people choose this as a topping.
The guacamole also had a bit of a kick to it which I really liked, it was a lot more exciting than bog standard lemon and sugar.
Rating: 4/5
Cheese and onion
I love cheese and I love onion, so surely on a pancake it was going to be good, right?
Wrong. It actually wasn’t as nice as I thought it would be, and I was super disappointed!
I think for me it was the texture, not the taste, I just don’t think the cheese and onion flavour went with the doughy consistency of the pancake.
It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t my favourite, which is why I’m rating this unusual topping a middle of the range 3 out of 5.
Rating: 3/5
Gravy
A pancake is basically a Yorkshire pudding, so I wasn’t overly bothered about this one, albeit a little random.
I poured a generous amount of gravy on top of my pancake and it made it quite soggy, which could be off putting for some.
I didn’t particularly mind though, and the pancake mixed with the gravy, as expected, was absolutely delicious.
I’m not usually one for savoury flavoured pancakes, but this one was another clear winner in my eyes!
Rating: 5/5
The verdict
Either I’m not overly fussy, or these unusual pancake toppings suggestions online and on Facebook were actually pretty good!
It opened my eyes to a variety of different toppings, and reminded me that they don’t always have to be sweet.
Granted, you’ll never beat classic lemon and sugar in my opinion, but hats off to those who can stomach strawberry, vinegar and cream, because I couldn’t.
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