Julie Van Rosendaal's favourite pancake recipes

Lent, the traditional period of fasting and penitence before Easter Sunday, begins on March 1st.

The Tuesday before Lent is known as Shrove Tuesday — and for foodies like the Calgary Eyeopener's Julie van Rosendaal, it's a chance to indulge in the traditional meal of Shrove Tuesday: pancakes.

The link between Shrove Tuesday and pancakes dates back hundreds of years. It's thought that it was an opportunity for households to use up their eggs, butter and fat in advance of Lent, when these ingredients were prohibited.

Julie's recipes this week are two distinct takes on the traditional pancake recipe.

Cherry Cheese Blintzes

Blintzes are crepes stuffed with various fillings, often sweetened cheese, packaged up and fried in butter until crisp, then topped with a saucy fruit compote. If you don't want to go all the way and make blintzes, this is a good basic crêpe recipe - serve them warm, with butter, brown sugar and a squeeze of lemon.

Crêpes:

• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp. canola oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. sugar
• pinch salt

Filling:

• 2 cups ricotta
• 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, crème fraîche or mascarpone
• ​1 large egg
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cherry Compote:

• 3 cups fresh or frozen pitted sour cherries
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• butter, for cooking

To make the crêpe batter, put the milk, eggs, oil, flour, sugar and salt in a blender and pulse until well-blended and smooth, scrape down the sides once or twice, and let sit for 20-30 minutes. It should have the consistency of heavy cream.

To make the filling, stir together the cheese, sour cream, egg, sugar and vanilla. To make the sauce, bring the cherries, sugar and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan; cook until the cherries collapse. If you'd like it thicker, stir the cornstarch into a tablespoon of cold water; add to the cherry mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for 4-5 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

To make the crêpes, set a medium skillet over medium-high heat and drizzle with oil or spray with nonstick spray. Consider the first a practice; pour a few tablespoons' worth of batter into the pan and quickly swirl it to coat the bottom or make an even circle. Cook until the edge starts to curl from the pan and it's golden on the bottom. At this point it will be easy to slide a thin heatproof spatula under the edge and flip the crêpe. Cook for another minute, until golden on the other side. Repeat with the remaining batter. The crêpes can be made a day ahead; refrigerate covered with plastic wrap.

Filling a blintz is like filling a burrito: place a crêpe on your work surface and put about 1/4 cup of filling in a strip down the middle, leaving about an inch at each end. Fold one long side over to enclose the filling; fold each short end over, then flip the whole thing over to close. Fill all the crêpes and set aside, or refrigerate for up to a day.

When you're ready to cook your blintzes, heat a good-sized pat of butter in your skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook a few at a time, without crowding the pan, until browned and crisp on both sides. Serve warm, with cherry compote on top.

Dutch Baby

Cast iron is perfect for making crunchy, eggy puffed pancakes, otherwise known as Dutch baby. If you like, pour the batter over sautéed apples in the pan, or bake it on its own and fill the pancake bowl with fresh berries, caramelized bananas - whatever you like. It even works as a vehicle for ice cream and chocolate sauce for a dramatic dessert.

• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• a dab of butter
• butter, fruit, icing sugar, maple syrup and/or whipped cream, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Put the pan in the oven to warm, or warm it on the stovetop with the butter, swirling to coat the bottom.

Whisk together the eggs, flour, and milk; don't worry about getting all the lumps out. Pour into the hot pan and slide into the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed and golden. Cut it into wedges and serve warm, with butter and syrup, berries and whipped cream, or whatever toppings you like. Serves 4.

With files from Julie Van Rosendaal and the Calgary Eyeopener