Making pancakes from a boxed mix is easy and convenient. But if you want something a little more decadent, grab a box of brownie mix. It's a simple addition that makes a huge difference in your morning routine. In just minutes, you'll have fluffy, ultra-chocolatey flapjacks that hold their own next to a slice of cake. Perfect for birthdays, holidays, or any lazy Sunday.
Pancakes are a global favorite with unique recipes on every continent. Stateside, they're the fluffy stack of griddle cakes that we douse in maple syrup and butter. While pancakes' airy and light crumb is a huge part of their appeal, their flavor doesn't stand out as much. We interviewed Jeffrey Williams, Executive Chef at Willowsong, who admits, "The basic recipe is flour, sugar, a leavening agent, some oil, and a pinch of salt-so it's not heavy on flavor to begin with."
I'm the chef-owner of Chez Ma Tante, and these are my pancakes. They honestly save the restaurant and I'm very proud of them now. We cook them on a griddle, and so we kind of float them onto an ocean of clarified butter, which results in this really nice crispy rim. And then they're finished with salty butter and nice maple syrup.
The line between the best pancakes and terrible ones is about half an inch thick - where instead of stacking up tall and proud, your pancakes end up flat, dense and kind of sad. And on those occasions when you don't end up biting into buttery, pillowy pancakes as planned, you can be left wondering whether to ditch the batter and fry some eggs instead. We've all been there. The good news is that with one simple step, pancakes can always be diner-worthy: All you need to do is bring your ingredients to room temperature.
While you might think stacking pancakes fresh off the griddle keeps them warm as you prepare the next batch, Porowski thinks this is a grave mistake. "If I stack, they get too ... pardon the word, moist," he reveals. "You don't want the pancakes to soften up. That's why the grill rack in the oven is key. It allows them to stay warm and lets them breathe without clustering them." Stacking pancakes will ultimately turn their fluffy crumb flat.
Pancakes are the ultimate breakfast (or lunch ... or dinner) of champions. They're so simple to prepare that even an amateur home cook can perfect them, and they are still tasty enough to satisfy the snobbiest of palates. But if you have ever wanted your homemade pancakes to taste like they came from a cozy, corner-side café rather than your own kitchen, there is one small step that makes a massive difference: roasting fruit before incorporating it.
Can anything perk up a lazy Saturday morning more than a stack of thick, fluffy pancakes? Hardly. And while you may have your go-to homemade recipe (that we're sure can't be beat), if you're on the road, sans ingredients, or just don't want to have to clean the kitchen after cooking, a dine-in breakfast may be in order. Unfortunately, pancakes are hardly one-size-fits-all - unless, that is, you're going to one of the best pancake houses in operation around the U.S.
Pancakes are often viewed as a vehicle for butter and syrup or chocolate sauce and fruit, but even the fanciest stack is only as good as its foundation. For perfect, pillowy flapjacks, try swapping in yeast for the baking powder found in most recipes. Yeast, which is commonly used to raise breads, produces a super fluffy, soft texture as well as a subtly tangy depth of flavor that makes your breakfast more exciting.
In a video shared by Raphael Gomes on TikTok, the social media user breaks down a two-ingredient (plus water) hack, which they claim tastes nearly identical to McDonald's version.
