Nine incredible pancake stacks to dig into on Shrove Tuesday
Fancy a plate of millionaire's crepes or a fat banana and pecan pancake?
With a bowlful of flour, a cracked egg in the centre and a steady stream of milk, a whisk is all that lies between you and a stack of freshly made pancakes.
Perhaps you add a little sugar or an extra egg yolk for richness, the milk stopping short for a thick batter for drop scones or thinner for crispy crepes to be served sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon.
As Shrove Tuesday rounds the corner, you may be preparing by practicing your flipping skills or simply planning to pick up a packet of ready made pancakes at the supermarket.
Whatever your plans, we've rounded up nine of the quirkiest pancakes you can find in Scotland, from unicorn stacks covered with bubblegum ice cream and sprinkles to crepes inspired by millionaire's shortbread.
Why do we celebrate Shrove Tuesday?
Pancake Day's origins are thought to have begun around 1000 AD, intricately linked with the celebration of Easter.
Taking place exactly 47 days before Easter Sunday, each year the date of Shrove Tuesday varies and it can fall anytime between the start of February and the beginning of March.
Historically, Shrove Tuesday, which derives from the word 'shrive' meaning to repent for one's sins, marked the last day before the start of Lent, known as Ash Wednesday.
An important period in the Christian faith, people would give up rich foods as penance, a practice still in place today practised by many denominations.
Abstaining from certain luxuries remains popular to this day, with people giving up things such as alcohol, chocolate and sweets for Lent to mark the 40 day fast (excluding Sundays) in the run up to Easter, mirroring Jesus' own fasting period in the desert as it is written in numerous gospels in the Bible.
Yet, hundreds of years ago, eggs, butter and milk were considered luxurious and were given up for this period, with the ingredients used up on Shrove Tuesday often used to make pancakes.
Pancakes around the world
With such a simple ingredients list, pancakes have many iterations across the globe.
The most familiar of these may be America's fat fluffy pancakes, often enriched with buttermilk and served as thick fluffy rounds drowned in syrup. France's thin crepes, enriched with egg yolks and lots of milk are too considered a classic.
In England, pancakes often refer to a thin, crepe style served with sugar and lemon while in Scotland, they are made with a thicker batter and can be referred to as Scotch pancakes, bannocks, drop or dropped scones.
Sri-Lankan hoppers resemble crumpets with their large airholes and doughy centre - a fermented pancake made with rice flour and coconut milk, an egg is often cooked in the centre as they bake and are filled with curries and relishes.
Japan's fluffy 'cloud' pancakes are made with whipped egg whites and are cooked in rings on a flat griddle, the texture light and often compared to soufflé.
Meanwhile China's version is called bing and can be served in a number of different ways, as thin papery rice flour pancakes called bao bing, often filled with meats, sauces or vegetables or fat and doughy laobing, which can be cut into pieces and stir fried with eggs or meat.
Holland's poffertjes are often found at international markets, little puffed discs of risen batter cooked in a special dimpled pan served with advocat while South America's cachapas are made with sweetcorn and served folded with a soft cheese filling.
Where can I get my pancake fix?
If you're just no flipping good at making your own, there are plenty of places offering towering stacks, paper thin crepes and frying pan-sized pancakes.
From Glasgow to Aberdeen, here's some of the best places to fill your belly this Shrove Tuesday.
Why have a stack of three fairly thin pancakes when your can order one fat drop scone from Delizique, roughly the size of a small pizza and the thickness of a pillow.
These fluffy pancakes are stuffed with all manner of fillings, from apple and cinnamon to raspberry and ricotta to banana and pecan and bacon crumbs with cream cheese.
Likely to leave you stuffed until next year, it's probably wise to cut a few into pizza-style wedges and share amongst your friends. That is, if your can bear to part with it.
If you fancy something a little healthier on pancake day, you could enjoy an early breakfast at Loudon's in Edinburgh, who offer an unusual superfood twist on the classic drop scones.
Made with avocado, spinach and red onion and layered with black bean houmous, their superfood pancakes are topped with coriander and spring onion creme fraiche. They also cater for vegans and those following a gluten free diet with their fat rounded blueberry pancakes topped with cherry sauce.
Just make sure you get your pancake fix early, as they only offer their brunch menu weekdays up until noon.
If a classic stack is more your thing, then Aberdeen's Rye & Soda offer a plate full of fat American-style pancakes, chargrilled smoked back bacon and a good helping of maple syrup.
Cooked on a hot griddle 'for maximum fluffiness', Rye & Soda refuse to reveal any more about their secret recipe, other than the fact that it was developed in a 'secret pancake lab'.
An Edinburgh institution, Treehouse's pancakes regularly crop up as a favourite among residents, with their Nutella and banana version selling, well, like hot cakes.
The cafe itself may be small and you could have a bit of a wait on your hands, but with combinations such as yoghurt and berries and bacon and maple syrup on the menu, your biggest problem will be choosing which sauce to top your brunch with.
If you'd rather break with tradition and turn your back on fat drop scone-style pancakes, then you could always choose Coro in Edinburgh, whose extensive crepe menu covers flavours such as lemon meringue, salted caramel, peanut butter and banana and even millionare's shortbread crepes.
Covered in chocolate, caramel and biscuit crumbs, Coro's buttery crepes will certainly satisfy your sweet tooth, but if you're hankering after a pancake stack, they also offer four pancakes in a variety of sweet toppings.
Plus the lovely owners, so fond of Shrove Tuesday, are offering a free cuppa with every stack or plate of crepes ordered on the day. Perfect for washing down those lemon meringue crepes.
If you don't eat dairy or animal products, then indulging in a stack of pancakes can be a difficult problem to solve.
Yet Stirling's Fat Cyclist cafe offers a number of vegan options on it's brunch menu, including these fat drop scone-style pancakes doused in fruit coulis, nuts, sliced banana and blueberries.
Protein pancakes aren't a particularly new notion, eaten by gym bunnies as a way to refuel after a particularly intensive workout. But if you're after something with a bit of a protein boost while still getting your pancake fix then Edinburgh 'naked' food cafe Grams' is the place for you.
Already deliver ing its protein pancakes, made with whey protein, gluten free oats, banana and eggs, to it's meal prep customers, they also sell them in house with plenty of fruit for a slightly healthier take on the classic stack.
Of course, pancake day is a pretty good excuse to completely indulge with dessert and Flip n Shake based in Stirling offers tooth-suckingly sweet toppings for it's house pancakes and waffles.
Cookie Monster pancakes come topped with bright blue bubblegum ice cream and crushed cookies and oreos while a Kinder Bueno is stuffed with chocolate sweets and warm white chocolate sauce and Creme Egg is covered in icing and chocolate.
But the stand out colourful creation has to be The Unicorn, with ice cream, rainbow sprinkles, marshmallows, raspberry and bubblegum sauces. Just remember to book a dentist appointment for the next day.
If you're after something completely different, then Aberdeen's Angus and Ale have unveiled their limited edition pancake burger to celebrate Shrove Tuesday.
Stacked with a cheeseburger, battered onion rings, a pickle and two dropped scones, it's certainly an alternative way to get your pancake fix.