Lockdown Recipes: 3 Innovative Ways To Use Readymade Pancake Mix

Pancakes are one of the most versatile dishes. Whether you like pancakes with maple syrup, butter or some fresh berries, the dish is yours to customise. With a quick and easy batter that can be prepared in minutes, they are ideal if you want to prepare breakfast in literally no time. Their salty-sweet taste goes perfectly with any number of ingredients and toppings, which is why pancakes can make a delicious dessert too!

Pancake mix is easily available and can be used to whip up pancakes for the whole family. It is a readymade pancake batter which is dehydrated, and only requires water to be added to it. But what if we told you there were more innovative ways to use this readymade pancake mix in cooking? If you want to have restaurant-style pancakes at home, this video by Insider offer some unique tips and secret ingredients to add to your pancake mix to give results like never before.

Here Are 3 Innovative Ways To Revamp Your Readymade Pancake Mix:

1. Super fluffy pancakes with one secret ingredient

One frequent concern about using readymade mixes is that the dish often comes out flat. In pancake mixes too, the batter contains all the requisite ingredients but somehow there is still something missing in terms of their texture and flavour. This secret ingredient will transform your daily breakfast in an unimaginable way. Take 1 cup of pancake mix and add to it 2/3rd cup of ginger ale. Let the batter rest for 2 minutes for it to bubble. Grease the pan with butter and cook on medium flame. Cook till both sides are golden brown, and your pancakes will come out soft, fluffy and super delicious!

(Also Read: 6 Fool-Proof Tips To Make a Perfectly Fluffy and Light Pancake)

2. Savoury sweet pancake casserole

Who says pancakes need to be sweet every time? This bacon, cheddar and green onion casserole recipe actually makes use of your pancake mix to make the bread base in the dish. The recipe is on Averie Cooks and Krusteaz's main website. With a few simple ingredients that are easily available in the kitchen which are mixed together and popped in the oven, this casserole will become a must-try recipe in your cookbook. Bacon can also be substituted with chicken, mutton, or any other meat of your choice. Here's the full recipe:

Bacon, Cheddar and Green Onion Casserole Recipe

Ingredients

• 10 slices of bacon (or any other meat of your choice)
• 4 chopped green onions
• 1 cup of pancake mix
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of cheddar cheese.

Method

1. Add one cup of pancake mixture, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 egg and 1/4 cup of melted butter in a bowl. Whisk it well and put it in a buttered pan.
2. Combine 1/2 cup of milk, 3 eggs and the chopped green onions. Mix it well.
3. Take the bacon strips and chop them further.
4. Layer the pan with one cup of cheddar cheese.
5. Add the bacon strips on top and layer the green onion mix in the pan. Add more cheese and bacon if necessary.
6. Cook for 35-40 minutes at 190 degree celsius.
7. Serve hot and garnish with green onions.

This casserole tastes somewhat like a pie, and with a number of special ingredients it is completely satisfying even if had just by itself.

(Also Read: 7 Amazing Recipes Of Savoury Pancakes To Make At Home)

3. Masterchef pancake recipe - Blueberry Pancakes with Maple Butter

We often wonder what exactly goes into pancakes which are made in restaurants by chefs. What ingredients do they use to get the pancakes so idyllic and blissful tasting? Chef Neil Kleinberg who is the chef and co-owner at Clinton St. Baking Company decodes the recipe which you can easily make at home, that too with a readymade pancake mix!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pancake mix
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cap vanilla extract
• 1 egg

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together, but don't over mix. Let it rest for two minutes.
2. In a pan, take 1/2 tsp butter and let it melt so that it forms a coating on the pan.
3. Cook three to four pancakes together in a single pan.
4. Make sure they don't stick together and stay separate.
5. If you have a large pan, use it as a clock. Start the first pancake at 12 o'clock, then the next one at 3 o'clock, then the next one at 6 o'clock, and then the next one at 9 o'clock.
6. Use 1 cup frozen blueberries to top the pancakes. Flip each pancake only once.
7. Serve hot and crispy.

Maple butter (optional):

Take 1/2 cup of good maple syrup. Mix in about 50 grams of butter into it, in parts until the mixture becomes thick and melted.

(Also Read: High-Protein Recipe: This 3-Ingredient Pancake Is The Quickest And Easiest Start To The Day)

"The key to a good pancake is the golden ring around it, and that only forms with enough fat on the pan," Chef Neil Kleinberg says in the video. He further said that the maple syrup butter was the icing on the cake, so even if the pancakes didn't turn out to be good the butter would be the saviour.

The bottom line is that there are endless recipes and ways to innovatively use even readymade food mixes. Pancake mix is just one such readymade mixture that the video creatively used. There are other mixtures such as cake mix, brownie mix, cheesecake mixtures that can be easily used to make all sorts of dishes with just a little bit of creativity in the kitchen!