So the last couple of days have been quite entertaining here in Germany, there has been a celebration called Fasching or Karneval, the name varies. It started on Thursday which was Women’s Carnival Day, where if a man wears a tie, the women are allowed to cut it off (?!). Then on Saturday in our Village there was a big Fasching party and parade which seemed to last all day. All of the roads in the village were closed so the parade could pass through and everyone could walk round the village. Then apparently today there are costume balls all over Germany. Another thing to mention is throughout this time it is acceptable to go out and about in fancy dress. I was slightly confused when I went in to the supermarket on Thursday to the staff dressed up in various outfits!

If you know anything else about Fasching please let me know as I don’t really understand it and could have got a lot of the above wrong! When my Husband was asked if we do anything like this in England, all he could do was laugh! It is quite a strange concept!

Unfortunately I still don’t have anything to report about jobs, applications etc. I will let you know as soon as I do.

The one good thing is that with my free time I have been able to do a lot more baking. I have just developed the recipe below for Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon Pancakes which I think are absolutely delicious!

We have two friends from England coming over on Thursday for the weekend which I am very excited about! So I may not be able to post my second blog post this week… we will see.

Please let me know if you try my recipe and what you think!

You can find me on Instagram

Happy Pancake Day!

Lucya

Apple Pancakes (approx. 8 pancakes)

Ingredients

100g flour

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

280ml milk

A knob of butter

for the filling (1 portion)

Knob of butter

1 small eating apple

15g brown sugar

15g raisins

1/2 tsp cinnamon

note please note that the pancake mix should make around 8 pancakes. The apple filling will make enough for 1 pancake. I have left it like this as I know not everyone always wants the same filling and this is really easy to double/ triple as needed!

Making the pancake batter

Start off by mixing the flour and salt together in a bowl. Make a small well in the middle of the mixture. In a jug whisk together your eggs and and milk and then pour in to the well of the dry mixture. Whisk together until you have a smooth mixture.

If the batter is quite stiff add a little bit more milk to loosen it up.

cover the batter and put to one side.

To make the filling

peel and dice your apple(s) in to small chunks.

Put the butter in to a sauce pan over a medium-high heat and wait for it to melt.

Once the butter has melted add your apple and raisins and stir to coat in butter.

Add the sugar and stir again.

Keep an eye on the pan and stir occasionally, you want to butter and sugar to turn in to a lovely caramel sauce but you don’t want it to stick to the bottom of the pan!

Check the apple(s) are soft by inserting a sharp knife in to the largest piece. Once they are nearly done add the cinnamon and stir again.

Cooking the pancakes

Meanwhile, in a frying pan melt a large knob of butter over a high heat.

Once the butter is melted and bubbling pour in just enough pancake batter to cover the bottom of the pan (you don’t want the pancakes to be too thick). If your pan is hot enough it should take around a minute to cook each side. You can tell when the bottom is nearly ready as the batter on the top of the pancake will no longer be liquid and will have just set.

Once your pancake is cooked on both sides put on a plate and top with your apple mixture.

At this point you can eat it as it is, sprinkle some more cinnamon, icing sugar or serve with a dollop of creme fraiche!