Tiktok pancakes are coming to make your breakfast life easier.
Ice cube tray pancakes aren’t pre-cooked frozen pancakes, they’re raw frozen pancake batter that you cook from frozen. This means a fresh stack of pancakes without the mixing and cleaning!
I’m a breakfast person. I used to skip breakfast on the regular but now that I’m an “adult” I aim to eat breakfast everyday. It really IS the most important meal of the day. Usually I just have a slice of toast or something simple, but lately, thanks to Tiktok, I’ve been having daily breakfasts of quick and easy fluffy pancake stacks.
What are tiktok pancakes?
Frozen pancakes, ice cube pancakes, ice cute tray pancakes, pancake ice cube hack, freezer pancakes: whatever you want to call them, they’re all essentially the same thing. Pour pancake batter into an ice cube tray (or food mold), freeze it, and boom, you have ice cube tray pancakes. You can add mix-ins to the batter or leave it plain, it’s up to you. The genius part is that the batter is pre-mixed, pre-portioned, and ready for the frying pan. That means there’s no measuring, no mixing, and not as much clean up. It’s perfect for those days when you feel like a little bit of a special breakfast but don’t have the time or inclination to break out everything you need to mix up a batch of pancakes.
Frozen pancake batter?!
Some people think raw frozen pancake batter is ridiculous – you can’t win over everyone – but for me, I love that almost instantaneous, but still cooking aspect of ice cube pancakes. I love a fresh stack of pancakes and they cook up super cute and small. Sure, it’s true that you can meal prep pancakes and freeze them already cooked, but it’s not quite the same as freshly cooked.
As for where ice cube tray pancakes came from, I think they’ve been around for a while, at least according to a quick google search, but I first saw them on Tiktok when I saw this post. The thick and fluffy pancakes caught my eye and more than 8 million other people too.
How to make Tiktok pancakes
Make your favorite pancake recipe
You can go with store bought pancake mix or use your go-to pancake recipe. I like to use my simple fluffy buttermilk pancake recipe. It’s one cup flour mixed with 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1 teaspoon baking soda. After that’s mixed up in a bowl, you whisk an egg with 1 cup of buttermilk then add it to the dry mix. Stir it up so everything’s mixed together – this batter is nice and thick which means extra fluffy pancakes.
Pour the pancake batter into an ice cube tray
After your pancake batter is ready, all you need to do is pour it into clean ice cube trays. The smaller your ice cubes, the smaller your pancakes will be, so be sure to use an appropriate sized ice cube tray to how big you want your pancakes to be.
Add-ins
If you want, this is the time to add mix-ins to your pancakes. Make sure whatever you’re adding is small enough to fit into the ice cube molds. You can do fruit (berries, bananas, apples), sprinkles (for funfetti pancakes!), nuts (chopped pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios), chocolate, or spices like cinnamon or pumpkin spice. Just drop the mix ins on top of the pancake batter, as you cook the pancakes, the mix ins will gently insert themselves into the pancakes.
Freeze the pancakes
Once the pancake batter (and mix-ins, if using) are all set up in the ice cube trays, it’s time to freeze. Simply freeze in the freezer until frozen solid. After that, you can leave them in the trays or pop them out and place them in freezer bags/a freezer container. I like to just pop them out and put them in a container.
Cook the pancakes as needed
When you need a quick pancake fix, heat up a non stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add a bit of butter or oil and a frozen ice cube pancake straight from the freezer. Cook, on low and slow, until the until the pancake melts, cooks, and starts to bubble at the edges, about 2-3 minutes, depending on the size. When the edges are set, flip the pancake and cook the other side until golden then enjoy with butter and syrup!
What ice cube tray for Tiktok pancakes?
Truthfully you can use any ice cube tray you have at home, but the best tray you can use is a silicone ice cube tray. They come in so many sizes and it’s super easy to push the pancakes out. I like using the silicone molds that I use for hot chocolate bombs because I have them and they’re round like pancakes.
Tiktok pancakes tips and tricks
- Use a liquid measuring cup to pour the pancake batter into the ice cube tray/mold.
- Chop up your fruit or nuts so they’re small enough to fit inside each individual ice cube.
- Mini chocolate chips work better than large chocolate chips.
- Any size ice cube tray or mold will work: regular size ice cube trays make small, cute pancakes and larger ice cube trays will make regular standard size pancakes.
- Cook ice cube tray pancakes low and slow to give them enough time to melt and cook through.
The key to knowing when it’s time to flip a pancake is to wait for it to bubble. Once the edges start to look solid and set, small bubbles will rise up, both around the edges and nearer to the middle of the pancake. When you see the bubbles, take a peek underneath and if it’s golden, it’s time to flip.
How long will Tiktok pancakes keep in the freezer?
They’re best in the first month that you freeze them, but you can keep them in the freezer for up to three months.
More pancake recipes
- super fluffy Japanese pancakes
- extra mini cereal pancakes
- strawberry shortcake pancakes
- crème brûlée pancakes
- pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes
- Greek yogurt pancakes
- chocolate coconut pancakes
- crispy cornmeal pancakes
- fruity pebble pancakes
Happy breakfasting!
xoxo steph
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup add ins of choice, optional, such as chopped fruit, mini chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda.
- In another bowl or large glass measuring cup, whisk the egg and mix in the buttermilk.
- Add the buttermilk egg mix to the dry ingredients and stir until well combined, some small lumps are okay.
- Evenly pour the pancake batter into your ice cube tray or food molds, about 1/4 inch from the top. If you are using add ins, add your fruit, nuts, or chocolate to each individual pancake now.
- Freeze the tray in the freezer until completely solid.
- Remove the pancakes from the tray and store in an air tight container or ziplock bag.
- To cook: Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Melt a bit of butter or add a bit of oil of choice. Add the frozen ice cube pancake and cook on medium low, until the pancake melts, cooks, and starts to bubble at the edges, about 2-3 minutes.When the edges are set and there are bubbles in the surface of the pancake, flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until golden. Remove from the pan and enjoy with butter and syrup!
so creative, love the idea of not having to mix ingredients, including flour on demand and instead just take out some frozen dough, love it, thank you!