Are you interested in finding out how to make cake out of pancake mix? Then you have come to the right place. Pancake mix is a staple in most American home and have been the saving grace of many a harried homemaker. What’s more is that you can adapt this halfaway made treat to suit your taste and that of your loved ones.
Finally, having the trick of making cake out of pancake mix up your sleeve would ensure that you always have a ready treat for your family within short notice.
I was a bit perplexed the first time I was confronted with the question of how to make cake out of pancake mix. It was actually a question that I didn’t have a ready answer for. Why? Because I felt like “why would anyone want to make cake out of a pancake mix?
It got me thinking however, and I began to research. Truth is this hack of making cake out of a pancake mix is an old one. But as with everything in the world of the culinary arts, it has kept evolving with different recipes and adaptation of recipes.
This article is a result of that research so sit back, relax, read and watch the accompanying video. I assure you that you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the end. What’s more, you’ll never be stumped for recipes for last minutes desserts or “extra special/different” tasty treats for your family.
Table of Contents
Why Use Pancake Mix For Cake?
There are some reasons why it makes a lot of sense to use pancake mix to make a cake. Some of those reasons are as follows:
Excess Supply of Pancake Mix
If for some reason you happen to have an abundance of pancake mix boxes, you don’t have to subject your family to eating pancakes until they begin to hate it. You can put that pancake mix into other uses; whip up different cake recipes with it!
Pancake Taste in a Cake
You can get pancake taste in a cake. How do you achieve that?
We discovered that there were times when some folks just want that cross between a cake and pancake. Those time when you just want to throw in something that tastes like pancake into the oven and not have to make individual pancakes. That’s when pancake mix comes in handy for a cake.
Saves Time
In addition to getting the taste of pancake in a cake, you also get to save time when you use a pancake mix to make a cake. Most recipes for this, takes about 5 minutes to prep and at most 25 minutes to bake. This brings the total time to 30 minutes. So you can actually prepare this for your kids’ snack box before leaving for work! It also makes a great breakfast item.
Recipes For Making Cake Out Of Pancake Mix
First Recipe : Pancake Mix Cake With Graham Crackers
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Ingredients
To Make The Cake You Need The Following:
2 Cups Pancake Mix
3 Sheets Graham Crackers (That would be three pieces from a pack ; crush to fine crumbs)
1 Cup, 235 ml or 8 fl oz. Milk
2 Large Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
To Make The Glaze You Need The Following:
2 Tablespoons Butter
½ Cup or 64 g Icing Sugar
1 Sheet Graham Crackers (one piece from the pack finely crushed)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
2 – 3 Tablespoons Milk
Instructions For Preparation and Baking
(i) Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a Bundt pan thoroughly.
(ii) Place all the ingredients for the cake in a mixing bowl and mix well.
(iii) Put the batter in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick you insert in the middle comes out clean.
(iv) When you put the cake into the oven to bake, make the glaze.
(v) Place the butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and whip until it gets light and creamy
(vi) Add the graham cracker crumbs and continue to mix; add the vanilla and then mix for about one minute.
(vii) Add the milk in drops and keep mixing until you get a pourable consistency.
(viii) When your cake is done, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
(ix) Turn the Bundt pan over on a serving platter and remove the cake.
(x) Once the cake is ready to be served, drizzle with the glaze.
(xi) Garnish with any nut or fruit of your choice.
This recipe was adapted from https://dizzybusyandhungry.com/pancake-mix-cake-graham-crackers/
Second Recipe: Blueberry Pancake Mix Cake
To make this recipe, you need the following ingredients:-
Ingredients
1 Cup Pancake Mix
1 Cup or 120 g Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
¼ Cup Light Brown Sugar (tightly packed)
¼ Cup Maple Syrup (you can substitute with honey, molasses or agave nectar but bear in mind that the taste would be different)
1 Egg
1 Cup, 235 ml or 8 fl oz Milk
1/3 Cup, 79 ml or 2.7 oz Pure Vegetable Oil
1 Cup blueberries
Instructions for Preparation and Baking
Follow these simple steps to prepare these ingredients :-
(i) Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease an 8 inch baking pan
(ii) Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
(iii) Place the wet ingredients in another bowl then mix both dry and wet ingredients well.
(iv) Finally, add the blueberry and fold them in but do not over mix the batter after adding the blueberry.
(v) Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes or until you insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake and it comes out clean.
(vi) This cake can be served warm or cool. You can also sprinkle with icing sugar or any glaze of your choice before serving.
You can also click here to check out some of our blueberry cake recipes; they ‘ll come in handy especially if you have an abundant supply of blueberries.
Adapted from https://spicysouthernkitchen.com/blueberry-pancake-cake/
3rd Recipe: Pancake Mix Cake (Generic and adaptable as desired)
This third recipe is a versatile one that can be adapted to suit any palate. Below are ingredients that can be used for the generic cake:-
Ingredients
2 and ½ Cup Pancake Mix
1 Cup, 227 g or 8 oz Sugar
5 Eggs
1 Cup, 235 ml or 8 fl oz. Pure Vegetable Oil
1 Cup, 235 ml or 8 fl oz. Milk
Instructions For Preparation and Baking
(i) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour a Bundt pan and set aside.
(ii) Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix very well
(iii) Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
(iv) Leave the cake in to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then turn it out onto a serving platter.
(v) You can add cinnamon or any other spice that you like to the batter. You can also add some orange or lemon zest or nuts or even a mix of nuts, spices or zest. Like we said earlier, you can tweak this recipe as you like.
Finally, we leave you with this video for more insight and inspiration on how to make a cake out of a pancake mix.
Also check out these articles from our previous posts :
- Cake Boards – Covering the Bases
- Fondant Decorating Tools-Next Level!
- Cake Piping Kits – A Newbie’s Guide
- Gum Paste Flowers –Edible Decorations
- Cake Turntable: A Decorator’s Best Friend
- Gum Paste Flower Cutters- Creating Edible Flowers
How To Make A Cake Out Of Pancake Mix – FAQs
What Can Be Made From Pancake Mix?
There are several things that can be made from pancake mix. Some of these treats can either be baked or fried and they include the following:- Cookies ,cakes, brownies , nutty toffee bars, funnel cake , egg and hash brown breakfast bake, churros and pancake donuts.
The truth of the matter is that anything that you can make with flour and a leavening agent can be made with pancake mix. You can always experiment to get several goodies from your pancake mix. That is the beauty of the culinary arts; it is both an art and a science.
Can I Use Pancake Mix Instead Of Flour?
Pancake mix can be used instead of flour. This is because pancake mix consists of flour, sugar, leavening or rising agents, flavouring. Therefore any recipe that calls for flour will come out well if you substitute the flour with pancake mix.
Like we said, experimentation is key in the culinary arts. But as with every scientific experimentation, there are certain rules that must be followed.
These rules include the following:-
(i) Do not use pancake mix as a substitute for flour recipes that call for yeast as the leavening agent.
(ii) When you measure out your ingredients reduce the quantity stated for flour by 2 ½ tablespoons. This means that if your recipe calls for one cup of flour, you should measure one cup of pancake mix and remove 2 ½ tablespoons from it. This reduction would account for the sugar and rising agent included in the pancake mix.
(iii) Next you reduce the wet ingredients in proportion to what the pancake mix.
(iv) Remember not to add extra rising agent or sugar to the mix.
(v) Finally, follow the instruction on your recipe for preparation and baking.
Is Pancake A Cake?
Pancake is not cake. It is defined as a flat cake that is made with almost the same ingredients as regular cake. These ingredients include flour, sugar, egg milk and a raising agent such as baking powder or baking soda.
However, although it has the same basic ingredients found in conventional cakes, the method of preparation and cooking is different.
Pancake batter is lighter and more watery than cake and it is fried with very little oil on a griddle or skillet. It is usually fried in small batches and served with syrup drizzled over it.
What’s The Secret To Fluffy Pancakes?
The secret to fluffy pancakes are actually no secrets but a few rules that veteran homemakers do not joke with. Here are a few simple rules that would help you get perfectly fluffy pancakes at all times.
(i) Use only fresh ingredients – Ensure that you use fresh ingredients for your pancakes at all times. If your baking soda is more than 6 months old, throw it out; that is why it is best to buy baking soda in small quantities if you are not a heavy user.
(ii) Do not over mix the batter – It is ok for some lumps to still remain in your pancake batter. If you mix the batter for too long, you would enable the gluten in the flour to develop. This makes pancake chewy instead of fluffy so just mix in the flour until it integrates with the wet ingredients.
(iii) Fry your pancake immediately you mix the batter – Ensure that you do not mix your pancake batter unless you are ready to start frying. Once you mix your pancake batter, the rising agent would start reacting with the wet ingredients. And the longer you leave the batter without frying the less effective the rising agent would become. This would lead to pancakes that do not rise well. So start frying your pancake immediately you mix the batter to get fluffy pancakes.
(iv) Use the right cookware – The best kitchenware to use for making pancakes is a griddle. But if you do not have a griddle then ensure that you have a skillet or frying pan with a heavy bottom. A thin frying pan would burn your pancakes. Also ensure that the size of the frying pan you use has enough clearance for flipping the pancakes.
(v) Use vegetable oil– although some recipes call for the use of butter to fry pancakes, vegetable oil is actually better. The reason for this is that butter burns easily especially when your skillet is on medium heat for a long time. If you must use butter, then use clarified butter and remember to wipe off your skillet after frying a couple of batches.
There are few more tricks which you would learn along the way but the above are basic tips that would improve the fluffiness of your pancakes.
