I tested pancake makers for Shrove Tuesday… £25 winner was fun & delivered restaurant-quality crepes
MAKING the perfect pancake requires just three ingredients – milk, flour and eggs. But, according to a new survey, nearly half of us have no idea how to make one.
Getting the right tools is crucial, whether you’re a traditionalist who likes them with lemon and sugar, or someone who loads them up with ham and cheese.
From fancy crepe plates to mini pancake makers, Lynsey Hope tests gadgets to see how they fare compared to a traditional pan, with marks out of five.
Giles & Posner mini snack maker, £14, Asda
THIS looks great, is super-compact and easy to store. There is nothing to assemble, you just get it out of the box and plug it in.
It is rather slow, taking around ten minutes to produce one small American-style pancake at a time, so not great if you have lots of mouths to feed.
The consistency was spot on. But it took around 40 minutes to make six pancakes so it would definitely be quicker to make them with a pan.
It is easy to use. Simply pour in the batter and close it down, and once it starts to steam, the pancake should be almost ready.
The gadget is quite versatile as you can employ it to make cookies and eggs too and the non-stick feature worked well so whatever you cooked, it cleaned up well afterwards. For this price, not a bad addition to the kitchen.
3/5
Russell Hobbs crepe and pancake frying pan, £16.79, Amazon
WHAT I loved most about using this pan was the flipping that you just can’t do with any of the machines.
It didn’t always go right and some pancakes ended up a bit mushy, but isn’t that all part of the joy of pancake day?
In the end, after just one or two tries, I managed to perfect the technique and the resulting pancakes were absolutely delicious, light, fluffy and went down a storm.
This pan was a great option. The batter didn’t stick and the low sides made it easier to flip the pancake.
Light and easy to handle, this is a great budget option for less than £17.
4/5
SugarWhisk double mini pancake maker, £26.39, Amazon
VERY easy to use, this was also much quicker than the smaller machines and you can make two American style pancakes at a time.
Even my seven-year-old daughter Olive could operate this gadget with supervision and she was thrilled that she had been able to make pancakes all by herself.
The pancakes came out perfectly, a nice size and consistency and fluffy and soft to eat.
The non-stick plates worked well and it was easy to clean. It doesn’t look terribly fancy so you will probably want enough space to tuck it away in a cupboard – it’s around the size of a toastie machine.
But as a bonus, you can use it to make omelettes as well.
3/5
Drew & Cole 5-Minute Clever Chef £39.99, drewandcole.com
MUCH smaller than it appears online, this clever little machine can make all sorts, including pancakes, pizzas, toasties and eggs.
I think it took a little more than five minutes to cook most things and, actually, I preferred this for making omelettes. It cooked eggs to perfection – they were really fluffy and delicious and you didn’t have to monitor a pan constantly like you did on the hob.
The pancakes weren’t as fluffy and light as I had hoped, and were a little runny, but they tasted good.
The best thing about this is the versatility and it doesn’t take up much space in the kitchen. It also has a cool touch handle so you don’t burn yourself during and after cooking. Good value.
4/5
Blue Mini pancake and cookie maker, £14.99, Wilko
INCREDIBLY simple to use. All you have to do is lightly grease the surface, wait for it to heat up and pour in the batter.
The gadget warmed up quickly but it did take a very long time for the pancake to cook – at least ten minutes until it was even vaguely golden in colour.
By the time it was ready, the kids had got fed up of waiting and had gone off to play – and that was the time for one mini pancake, so with three kids, this was a pretty slow process. Cheap.
Easy to clean and as it’s so small it doesn’t take up a lot of space but I didn’t prefer it to using a traditional pan.
2/5
Lakeland 2-in-1 waffle and pancake maker, £19.99, Lakeland
LOOKS smart but this took forever to heat up. I tried using less mixture to get the pancakes to cook faster, but they ended up pretty thin and small and were nothing to write home about.
If you want more than a tiny one then you have to try and keep them warm for ages while you make the others.
The pancakes probably are a little healthier as they don’t use so much oil but it took so long, I’m not sure I’d bother trying again. A couple of times I opened the machine to check and they were still raw inside. It was too much hassle.
The pancakes did taste good but I’d have preferred the consistency thicker and less chewy. It did make better waffles, but that’s no good for Pancake Day. A waste of £20.
1/5
Russell Hobbs pancake and crepe maker, £25, Dunelm
I LOVED the novelty factor of this machine – the kids were delighted when they saw it and were hoping for restaurant-quality crepes.
The gadget heated up quickly and evenly and it did take one or two attempts to get right, but the result was worth it.
You have to press quite lightly to spread the mixture around the non-stick plate, but once you get the knack, it’s great.
An adjustable thermostat allows you to alter the temperature to suit and the pack includes a wooden spread tool and a spatula to help serve the pancakes.
It’s quite a good way to show off at dinner parties or for guests. Easy to master and fun to use.
5/5
Winning Russell Hobbs pancake and crepe maker is easy and fun to use
Make your batter better with these tips
DIETITIAN and nutritionist Azmina Govindji, author of Vegan Savvy, shares her pancake making tips:
- Create a fluffy pancake by adding whisked egg white to the batter. This brings high quality protein and no extra fat.
- Add some ground flaxseeds or linseeds to wholemeal flour for the base of your pancake batter. Flaxseeds are a good way to get your omega-3 fatty acids if you don’t eat fish. And the wholemeal flour will be higher in fibre than plain white flour. You could also add some oats.
- Want to sweeten your pancake batter? Try using fruit instead of sugar. Mashed banana works particularly well.
- For toppings, swap out cream and use high protein low-fat Greek yoghurt instead. Smother in a variety of fresh berries. Not only will berries bring you antioxidants and vitamin C, you’ll also be doing your gut microbiome a favour.
- Finish off your pancakes with chopped nuts, nut butter nuts and toasted seeds for crunch and texture. They add healthy fats.
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