5 March is the date of Shrove Tuesday this year. The fasting season of Lent starts the following day, so traditionally this was the day when milk, sugar, eggs and the like were used up to clear the way for 40 days of more abstemious fare. And what can you make with milk, sugar and eggs? Pancakes, of course!

And it’s not a uniquely British tradition, Pancake Day is marked in countries from the US to Ukraine and Russia.

Indeed, Travelling Frogs saw a range of options on a Moscow restaurant menu:

My mummy’s pancakes (with butter)

My mother in law’s pancakes (with sour cream)

My wife’s pancakes (with honey)