American pancakes

30 min.
American pancakes are perfect for a Sunday brunch and as a dessert. Bake the small, fluffy pancakes on a regular pan, a pancake pan, or in a blini pan and serve them hot with delicious toppings like blueberries, maple syrup, and butter. American-style pancakes are easy to make and even easier to enjoy, meaning you will have gobbled up this batch in no time.

Ingredients

20 pieces

American pancakes:

Serve with:

Instructions

Tip

If you have the time, resting your American pancake batter for 15-30 minutes on the countertop before you bake them will make these American pancakes fluffy beyond compare. This resting period gives the liquid in the batter time to release the starch and protein from the flour. These as well as the baking powder are what allow the mixture to rise as it cooks and thus give the American pancakes their light texture. When the batter has time to rest, the baking powder also has time to be evenly distributed throughout it which ensures that the pancakes lift evenly. If you only have 5-10 minutes to spare, try giving your batter a little time to rest anyway – a little goes a long way.

Questions about American pancakes

With our easy American pancake recipe, you can be serving a delicious stack of golden pancakes to friends and family in no time. Read on to learn more about American pancakes by looking at answers to some frequently asked questions about the sweet dish.
What is an American pancake?

An American pancake is a round, fluffy cake fried until golden in a pan. Unlike most European pancake recipes, a traditional American pancake recipe will call for a raising agent like baking powder and thus produce a fluffier textured pancake. They will usually also yield a thicker batter due to the addition of creamy dairy products like labneh, or buttermilk which will make for a light and fluffy treat. American pancakes are usually served as a breakfast dish with toppings like butter, syrup, and berries but may also be enjoyed as a dessert. 

How to make American pancakes?

With the best American pancake recipe, making the classic breakfast dish is easy. Combine flour and milk before mixing in labneh, beaten eggs, and the rest of the American pancake ingredients. Fry the pancakes beautifully golden and serve them hot with butter, maple syrup, and blueberries for a flavor combination made in heaven.

How to serve American pancakes?

American pancakes are at their very best when they are still hot. They are often served in stacks of a few pancakes with butter on top and drizzled with maple syrup and fresh berries. Serving American pancakes hot ensures that the butter on top melts and combines with the maple syrup to create a delicious pancake sauce. If you have leftover American pancakes, try frying them in some butter the next day. This will give them a nice crispy edge while still remaining the soft centre.

How thick should American pancake batter be?

American pancake batter is usually slightly lumpy – although a rested one will be less so – and thicker in comparison to most European pancake batters. It should be thick enough that it can drip off a spoon. If your batter has become a bit too runny, adding a bit of flour can remedy this. While a batter that has, on the other hand, become too thick can become slightly more liquid by the addition of a bit more milk. Add just a little flour or milk at a time and check the batter's consistency using a spoon.

Can you make American pancake batter the night before?

With our American pancake recipe, you have the option of preparing your batter in advance and leaving it overnight in an airtight container or sealed piping bag. While the baking powder in the batter starts working as soon as it encounters liquid, it stores fine because it, opposite baking soda, reactivates when it is heated. American pancake batter will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days but the pancakes it produces may be slightly less fluffy.

Other recipes you will love

Sweet and fluffy American pancakes

Hotcakes, griddlecakes, flapjacks – a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and a pancake by any other name tastes just as delicious. American style pancakes are small, fluffy, and delightful. While a classic American pancake recipe calls for staple ingredients like flour, milk, eggs, sugar, salt, baking powder, and butter, we have chosen to add creamy labneh to this batter as well to create an even fluffier pancake texture as well as a richer flavor. The result is an American pancake that is rich, moist, and fluffy with a lot of natural sweetness.

In case you want to indulge in more delicious pancakes from around the world, we recommend having a look at our recipes for French crepes suzette, Japanese-inspired fluffy soufflé pancakes, and Kaiserschmarrn, a traditional Austrian pancake dessert.

Serve with butter and sugary maple syrup

Butter, maple syrup, and blueberries are classic American pancake toppings. Serving your pancakes hot ensures that the butter melts and combines beautifully with the thick molasses-like maple syrup, creating a delicious, golden sauce that is sugary-sweet but has a hint of saltiness. The beautiful, fresh blueberries offer pops of freshness that brighten the flavors of the American pancakes as well as the buttery syrup sauce.

Another classic topping option for light and fluffy American pancakes that you might want to try out is a rich, indulgent chocolate sauce. Check out our simple recipe and make a delicious homemade chocolate sauce in just 15 minutes.

Experiment with some of the classics

There are three types of traditional American pancakes: regular, blueberry, and chocolate chip. Below, you can learn a bit more about these two beloved variations of the breakfast classic.

Blueberry American pancakes

A great thing about the fluffy texture of an American pancake – the delicious mouthfeel and taste aside – is the fact that the pancakes rise enough to make 'room' to add something to the batter. For a fruity take on an American style pancake, adding fresh or frozen blueberries to the batter, either instead of or in addition to using them as a garnish, is a classic. The blueberries add natural sweetness and provide pops of purple in the golden pancakes.

Chocolate chip American pancakes

American pancakes with chocolate chips or chunks of a chopped chocolate of your choice are nothing short of mouth-watering. When served warm, the gooey, hot chocolate literally melts in your mouth and adds a deep, sweet flavour that suit the buttery pancakes amazingly. While this version of American pancakes may, of course, still be enjoyed as a breakfast dish, serving them with a dollop of ice-cold whipped cream or a scoop of homemade ice cream will turn them into a delicious sweet treat sure to delight young as well as old.

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