Top Newton-le-Willows café shares top tips for making perfect pancakes

Crepes or American style? Sweet or savoury? How do you eat your pancakes?

Christopher Jackson and his partner Claire opened Shakey J’s on High Street in Newton-le-Willows in 2016 selling milkshakes and desserts to take away.

After several years of deliveries and late nights, the pair decided to relocate to bigger premises and just a few months later scooped two of our Best of 2023 awards – Best for Burgers and Best for Breakfast.

Having served up countless plates of pancake towers in the past eight years on their award-winning breakfast menu, who better to ask for some top tips on Pancake Day?

Bueno pancakes are guaranteed to satisfy a sweet tooth (Image: supplied)

Chris said: “It’s Pancake Day every day at Shakey J’s!

“We’ve recently launched our All American breakfast which features three fluffy pancakes, American streaky bacon, sausages and scrambled eggs topped with maple syrup and ice cream.

“This is a great alternative to the traditional sweet pancakes on Pancake Day.

“Our most popular pancakes are the Bueno or the strawberry and Nutella closely followed by the Lotus Biscoff.

“Our pancakes are usually limited to the breakfast menu but they will be available all day on Shrove Tuesday.”

So, what’s the secret to perfect pancakes? What makes a flippin’ great pancake?

Here are Chris’ top three tips:

1. Prepare your toppings before making your pancakes. Pancakes don’t hold their heat for very long so having everything ready to go enables you to enjoy them at the right temperature.
2. Don’t be scared of mixing it up. Pancakes with sausage and egg instead of lemon and sugar might surprise you!
3. When making American pancakes, use an ice cream scoop to move the batter from the bowl to the griddle as it gives you the same perfect sized pancake every time – great for stacking!

Savoury pancakes served with streaky bacon, sausages and scrambled (Image: supplied)