Pancakes Are My Enemy

in food •  8 years ago  (edited)


No matter how many times I tried making them, I can never cook them just right.

I always try using different recipes, make sure all of my ingredients are of the same room temperature, I experiment with different cookware and they always end up not looking as nice as the ones you'd get at a restaurant.

I'm going to share a recipe I used to make them today, feel free to give me some tips and guides! I really would like to be able to make decent pancakes at home for once. Thanks :)

So here goes the recipe I used:

  • 200 ml milk;
  • 125 g flour;
  • 2 tb. spoons butter;
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder;
  • half of a teaspoon vanilla extract;
  • 2 tb. spoons sugar;
  • 1 egg;
  • a handful of chocolate chips;
  • a pinch of salt.

Directions:

Whisk the egg, sugar, vanilla extract and salt until fluffy, add in the milk, melted butter, stir, now add in the rest of the ingredients - sift the flour in, baking powder. Whisk well. Preheat your skillet on a medium heat, pour a small amount of batter onto the pan, approximately 40-50 ml, when you start noticing the batter bubble up, turn the pancake over and cook on the other side.

Okay, now this is what I got, even though I precisely followed the recommendations, for some reason my pancakes always get a little too charred on the edges, who can tell me why?


Oh yeah, I almost forgot that I used some banana for garnish and poured a little bit of maple syrup over the pancakes



I tried to take nice photos of these ugly pancakes for you guys, since I am also trying to learn more about photography and finally be able to feel confident with a camera.
Anyways, comment, discuss, help me to get better!

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I'm pancakesexual, these pancakes are definitely top tier

I will take that as a compliment :) Nice!

I guess your pan is a little bit too hot. Try lower the heat and use oil spray instead of butter. Practice make perfect :) I share a Japanese style pancake recipe. If you are interested, please have a look of my post. Cheers !

Thank you for the tip @krichy! I only used butter for the batter and I used oil to grease the pan, next time I will cook them on the lower heat!
And YES! Of course I wanna go check out Japanese style pancakes, thanks!

Never used anything but butter for 50 years oil tastes awful......

What kinda oil have you used that tastes awful?

  • I use olive oil or avocado oil for salad dressings;
  • sesame seed oil for stir fry;
  • coconut oil or butter for baking;
  • grape seed or coconut oil for every day frying needs.

Never had an issue.

I was referring to making pancakes I've never cooked them any anything but butter......

Goctha, it kinda sounded like you only use butter, sorry for the misunderstanding.

your pan is little too hott, and i wouldnt add butter to the mix...also make sure to let batter sit for a few minutes...

Gotcha! Thank you! I will leave it out next time and make sure to cook on a lower heat! :)

I know sometimes it's just the way the butter or oil sits on the pan that chars my edges up around:(
Still always taste great:)
But Your Recipe and those Pancakes look Bomb

Thank you very kindly! I think I'm gonna practice some more, they are very rare in my kitchen haha

YIKES!!!!! LMAO! I think your pan is toooooo hot lol.
Here is how I do them...

That's a great tutorial! Thanks a lot for sharing, gives me a better understanding of what I gotta do next time! :)

WOAH, yeah, those were some shitty pancakes! hahaha

Bein' the pancake hero.

Being from the South, I figured you would introduce @kotturinn to the loveliness of biscuits and gravy! lol

I've tried to weed out all of the unhealthiness incorporated into a Southern lifestyle haha. I wanna live a little longer than 30!

As a pancake wizard, I understand the rules of pancakery, the first of which is to love all your pancakes as if they were your own children. Fore in a way... they are. They are of you, from you, a part of you. They are a gift to the world of the magical flavor and syrup holding that only a pancake can give!

It's only by embracing your failures as perfect in their own way, and as edibly delicious as their more symmetrical brethren can you achieve the highest levels of wizardry! And remember the Pancake Wizard creed, sister!

"I will eat your pancakes, anytime"

May the syrupy flat peace be with you.

Thank you @mikedynamo! I'm happy that the pancake wizard gave me a few tips himself!!! I am going to try to follow every bit of the recommendations given!
I'm actually pretty good at cooking crepes, but I fail miserably on the pancake field . . .

Ok here is on sale the perfekt machine for pancakes . I order it and when its here will post how works . My pancakes will be just perfekt :)

But I wanna make mine from scratch! :)

They are from scratch you just use this thing for perfekt backing form :)

Ohhh! I see, I gotta look into that! Thanks!

Those are some delicious looking pancakes @kotturinn, very nicely photographed too!

Thanks for the recipe!

Thank you @shieha! I hope that your pancakes turn out prettier!

Great thing about pancakes is they can't really be messed up!

Hahaha! That picture is cracking me up!

Ahhh good o'l flap jacks

Haha! Sure do wish I could make the real American pancakes!

Man, those look amazing! Maybe adding a tsp of vinegar to the milk to make it "buttermilk" could add another flavor profile.

Never heard of using vinegar in desserts, thank you for the recommendation, I will look into it!

Milk+vinegar =buttermilk. Use for baking all the time...good for fry chicken too:)

Another one! Someone already told me today to add vinegar into milk, I guess it is quite a common thing to do! Thank you :)

what the pancakes still looks good. when i make pancakes i usually cook on low heat. but i see what you did there, its not bad tho. and the pics make'em look amazing. and the chocolate , no words <3

Thanks! I tried to take nice photos since I'm learning about photography haha
Low heat - noted! Thank you!

If I had to guess, I would say the reason your pancakes charred on the edge is either because you're not getting the flour coated in fat, or because you're not letting your batter rest. I'll run through both issues briefly here.

  1. Fat. So, all the major pancake mix producers use a process that coats each individual flour grain with fat, usually something similar to vegetable shortening. The better pancake recipes include actually cutting in shortening which is delicious but also very time consuming and difficult to get right given how little you use of it. A short cut that can help you is to simply add a small splash of cooking oil or butter to your batter, about a tablespoon or so. Mix it well, but don't overdo it. And I see you're already doing that so what I can offer is try to add the butter when it's not entirely melted and add it first to your flour almost as though you were making a roux. There's really no substitute for shortening if you're aiming for perfection but then that stuff isn't great for you either.

  2. Resting. There's not much to say about this. It's simply a good idea to let your batter rest for 5 to 10 minutes so that your flour has a chance to really hydrate. This is doubly true if you take my advice about adding oil! What I think is happening to your cakes is that water is pooling in your batter because you've either not mixed it thoroughly enough, not let it rest to properly absorb, or both. So when you go to pour out your batter onto the pan the loose water with less flour in it runs to the sides of your cake in thin streams that burn fast while the rest of your cake is still cooking through.

About the only other tip I can give you is to use medium low heat. Good pancakes take a little time to get going if you want them to fluff up. Your patience will be rewarded! Also, I know it's cheating, but there's no shame in using bisquick. I admire you for trying to perfect your home made mix and encourage you to keep trying, but honestly aside from the superior fat-coating technique, there's nothing they're doing that you wouldn't do in your own kitchen and their cakes come out great!

Thank you very much for taking your time and breaking some things down for me! Concerning the first part, the recipe I used called for a little bit of butter in the batter which I did add :) I guess it wasn't the issue now (some people recommended to skip the butter in the batter)! As to the second part, you are very right, I didn't let my batter rest at all, I had no idea it was a thing when it comes to pancakes.
I've never used Bisquick haha, I just like making everything from scratch, it is time consuming, but I have plenty of time now that I quit my job haha

Thank you very much again for helping me out with this! Have a great weekend!

..... Mmmmhhhhh i get hungry

Make some! Your pancakes will turn out way prettier!

Wooow !!!
It looks great and appealing.
I have taken note of the recipe and 'll try to make some soon.
Thanks for sharing @kotturinn
Upvoted and followed!
.. and please do stay in touch.

Nice meeting you @mcekworo and thank you very kindly! I bet your pancakes will beat mine any day! :)

aaaaahhhh !!!

You make me I'll eat

Haha Nice! :)

Well . . . I ate 'em . . .

They were good!

Lil' burned on the edges? Sure, but good!

Thank you, husband! :) I'm glad you approved!

Look delish. Im not a big fan of cooking but learnt along the way that if you do it often enough you will become quite s pro. So happy trying.

Practice makes perfect and soon you'll going to have it.

Hopefully! I fail every time though, makes me just wanna quit and switch to crepes that I always nail! Haha

You'll never know, yours will be more perfect than the other. :)

I will try again in a month or so! :)

Go ahead, never give up :)

OMG they look amazing !

Aw, thank you :) you're too nice!

but I see they look good

The pictures do haha but the pancakes are burnt on the edges! :(

hehehehe
well done
I like girls who burn cakes lol

That's nice! Luckily, there are so many of us who do that, I suppose! :)

Wow look delicious

Thank you @crisgojar :)

Haha...pancake is my girls weekend breakfast ..you can try to leave everything set for 20minutes before cook it...the consistency changes

Oh nice! I usually don't let the batter "rest" and cook right away! Thanks for the tip!

Give it a try this weekend!

Maybe! I usually don't make pancakes that often! Haha

waw it's look good . follow you and im looking for your next selection food :)

Thank YOU! I usually try to make a post at least once a day haha some days I may be slacking though!

welcom :D

I'll have a foodgazm if I eat them, for sure

Haha nice!

Hummm... hummm... good! Look YUMMY.

Nice! Thank you :)

nice pic and nice post...

Thank you!

Thank you again ... I hope you can help me in developing some of my post ... thanks for your response ...

Thank YOU for taking the time to comment, I'll check out your blog!

Thanks again ... I am very glad you visited and promote my blog .... very meaningful to me.

You're welcome! :)

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Great recipe follow mine @ch00fy

Thanks!

DAWN THESE PANCAKES are looking good. I like your pancakes very nicely done. I'm definitely gonna try your recipe. yum yum

You're too nice! Thank you! Most of the tips I've received say it's important to cook the pancakes on low heat! Or whatever works for you! I haven't tested all the recommendations yet.

LOVE this post! I think they look delish! Try the recipe without sugar as it burns easily...great foodie pics! Upvoted. Followed!

I hope know your pain. Growing up I could NOT make pancakes and even though I've gotten better, I still struggle for them to be perfect every time.

Funny thing is that I am pretty good when it comes to crepes, even though some people find them hard to make, it is the other way around for me.

That's really interesting. Why do think thats easier for you?

I guess I've made them too many times haha

This looks delicious! Thanks for sharing! :)

Ah, anytime! I got a lot of helpful feedback from folks on here, hopefully next time I'll be able to make a better version of these bastards!

great pictures and i dont think they look bad :) doing my cake batter, i do not add the milk first, i whip eggs and in small amount add flour so you do not get clumps, then add some of the milk, more flour and so on. I use my butter/oil in the pan not in the batter. :) I as the rest of the coments, think you have a to hot pan. Great post :D

Thank you very much! All of the tips have been noted! I am going to follow your recommendations next time I make pancakes, kinda excited now about making them "the Swedish way" :)

Your so welcome, i hope they come in handy for you. I would love to hear, if they helped you & also, im looking forward to hear what you think about THE 'Swedish once' ;) Good luck :D

I'll try to let you know once I make them, although it's probably going to take some time haha I don't make pancakes often!
I like Swedish music, so I'm sure I will love the pancakes as well! Haha

I was having the same problems so here's a tip, buy them.

Hahaha, thanks!
I prefer making food from scratch though so I know exactly what's in it.

That's the best way, don't be lazy like me 😅

I shall not! If I bought them I wouldn't be able to make a post haha

Aha I feel you!

Skillet too hot........and make sure your baking powder is not old.

Thank you, will cook them at a lower temperature next time, I wasn't using baking powder for this recipe.

Well you should check that whatever you're using to make them rise is fresh....:)

It is.

My mom taught me how to make pancakes. You get the skillet hot enough for a drop of water to dance on the pan. She preferred to use cast iron, and probably with cast iron you don't need butter, oil or whatever. That is if you are maintaining the cast iron in the old school way, which is NO SOAP EVER in the pan and only rinse and wipe. In these conditions the cast iron will be no stick. You can also oil the pan and cook it at 200 degrees for an hour in the oven, but I digress.

If you don't have cast iron, any pan using a light wipe of butter (I will put butter on a paper towel and wipe the pan real good for each set of pancakes. Wait until the bubbles pop on the top side of the pancake...then you know its good to flip. That is about it.

Oh and don't be self conscious about your pancakes, they are beautiful!

You're too nice! THANK YOU!

Yammmmmmmmmmmy😍

THANKS! :)

Yummy!! I love love love love pancakes!

Thanks! I hope yours look better than mine!

What are you talking about? They look great!! Lol!!

I think it's the pictures that trick people into thinking they look so good haha, my issue is that they tend to burn on the edges!

Lol, I might be a little weird but I like burnt edges on pancakes...and most stuff. 😉

Ah! Don't we all have our own weird ways when it comes to food! I don't mind burnt stuff, but it depends on how burnt it is hahaha

True! Totally understand!

Really nice photos. Here is my receipe without milk:

One cup of flour
One cup of water
Three tablespoons of sugar
Half a teaspoon of salt
One teaspoon of baking powder
One tablespoon of organic coconut oil


You are being followed by a coin puppet!

Please follow it back ;)

Oh neat! Thanks a lot! One question, why do you leave the milk out of your recipe? Have you tried substituting regular dairy milk for almond milk, or do you just not like it?

The reason is that I didn't had any milk because I usually don't drink it. The result was so good that I stayed with it. Substitutes might work but they don't really make difference to water in the end. Maybe a different taste.

I see, I was just curious if it was due to an allergy or something. A few people I know also use water for crepes instead of milk. Thanks! :)

Were you using a cast iron skillet?

Yup, switched to cast iron skillets last year!

My pancakes turn out the same color on a cast iron... I find heating to be tricky...

They might look a bit darker but sure do taste yummy!

The majority of tips I've received say to reduce the heat, maybe that is the problem? I personally haven't tested it, but I plan on it when I make pancakes again!

Yes! Cast iron takes longer to heat up and then it gets really hot. Reducing the heat helps :)

Very well, do not add butter and cook over normal heat, they are a little pasaditas, if you put baking powder let it stand 15 minutes for the baking powder to make its function. Greetings from Venezuela.

Hey! Thanks for the tips! Greetings from Detroit :)

Congratulations @kotturinn
You took 90 place in my Top 100 of posts

Awesome, thanks!