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Home / Courses / Breakfast

Pancakes (African Style)

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Author: Imma Published:8/10/2013Updated:5/22/2021
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African Pancakes — a comforting, rich, tender and tasty pancakes that are a cross between crepe and American pancakes. A great make ahead breakfast topped with either  butter, syrup or cinnamon sugar!

pancake (African style)

Not a Week goes by, in my household ,without making these tender pancakes – they are my son’s favorite breakfast. Who am I kidding, they are mine too!!!- for several reasons; Childhood memories, comfort rich taste and of course, a great make ahead breakfast – Now, tell me you like that!

pancake (African style)

I started making  these pancakes , when  I was about 10 years old , with  no  precise measurements . It always had a different taste each time because in my culture , all you need to know in order to cook  are  the ingredients . So armed with flour, eggs, milk and oil. I embarked on my pancake venture  making pancakes with pride and dedication . At the time , I love it and I knew my pancakes were  good.

pancake (African style)

However,  whenever I had an oporturnity  to  sample  pancakes sold  at my neighborhood  patisserie  , It  always was spot on- tender and tasty. One day ,I was bold enough to politely  ask them for their recipe .The lady making the pancakes  looked at me as if  something was wrong with me, without saying a word. I  learned that great tasting  pancakes are , indeed,  best left to bakeries and restaurants .

pancake (African style)

Fast forward to now, after making gazillion pancakes . I now have  an amazing recipe , that I use most of the time , with some lessons learn.Whisking the eggs separately  and letting the batter rest for at least an hour or more , relaxes the gluten found in flour and makes for some really  light and tender pancakes .Also  nutmeg and melted butter  adds flavor to pancakes.

These tender pancakes are a cross between crepe and  American pancakes – a  little thicker than crepes but not as thick as American pancakes . They are comparable to South African or Swedish pancakes , I call them  African pancakes because to be honest , there is no  name for it , other than pancakes . This is the pancake I know   from   Cameroon , West Africa, where I grew up, with slight variations. I can’t seem to get anything like  this in restaurants or maybe it is just comfort food to me , one that has to be homemade.

Deck it up however you like, butter, syrup, cinnamon sugar  . My preference fresh fruit on the side and a cup of tea.

Enjoy!!!

Notes;

For a lighter pancakes use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup water   instead of 1 1/2 cup milk

 

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”Og7KUoMo” upload-date=”Mon Aug 06 2018 19:45:03 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)” name=”African Pancakes” description=”African Pancakes — a comforting, rich, tender and tasty pancakes that are a cross between crepe and American pancakes. A great make ahead breakfast topped with either  butter, syrup or cinnamon sugar!”]

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Pancakes (African Style)
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African Pancakes

African Pancakes -- a comforting, rich, tender and tasty pancakes that are a cross between crepe and American pancakes. A great make ahead breakfast topped with either  butter, syrup or cinnamon sugar!
4.72 from 14 votes
Prep: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins
Cook: 15 minutes mins
Total: 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
African
Servings 8 pancakes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2- 2/3 cup sugar
  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla flavor
  • 1/4- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 cup oil optional

Instructions

  • Sift together flour, sugar,nutmeg and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs and milk together with a mixer or by hand . Mix in flour mixture until everything has been incoporated .Finally stir in melted butter.
  • Let the batter rest for about an hour or more in the refrigerator or overnight.
  • Heat a skillet or a non stick frying pan then lightly coat the hot pan with vegetable oil, cooking spray, or clarified butter.Then pour about a 1/2 cup of batter depending on your fry pan or skillet. Tilt pan so the batter spreads across the bottom of the pan. Cook the pancake for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown.
  • Lift with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, powder sugar or syrup

Tips & Notes:

  1. You have to oil the pan for the first pancake, however, you do not have to do the same for the rest.
  2. For a lighter pancakes use 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup water   instead of 1 1/2 cup milk
 

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 392kcal (20%)| Carbohydrates: 51g (17%)| Protein: 8g (16%)| Fat: 17g (26%)| Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)| Cholesterol: 122mg (41%)| Sodium: 110mg (5%)| Potassium: 131mg (4%)| Sugar: 27g (30%)| Vitamin A: 400IU (8%)| Calcium: 73mg (7%)| Iron: 1.9mg (11%)
Author: Imma
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: African
Tag Us On Instagram!Did you make this recipe? I love hearing how it turned out! Tag me on Instagram @ImmaculateBites and be sure to leave a rating below!
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Nutrition Facts
African Pancakes
Amount Per Serving
Calories 392 Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 122mg41%
Sodium 110mg5%
Potassium 131mg4%
Carbohydrates 51g17%
Sugar 27g30%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 400IU8%
Calcium 73mg7%
Iron 1.9mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

African pancakes/crepes

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Comments & Reviews
  1. Bamenda boy says

    Posted on 4/15 at 6:24AM

    5 stars
    Make God bless you my sister. Woke up craving for this this morning.

    Reply
    • ImmaculateBites says

      Posted on 4/15 at 7:29PM

      Aww thank you Bamenda Boy

      Reply
  2. Fidèle says

    Posted on 12/13 at 6:44AM

    5 stars
    Just made this for breakfast. I do not comment often but im here atleast 3x/week.
    Thanks for the recipe 🙂

    Reply
    • ImmaculateBites says

      Posted on 12/14 at 2:43PM

      Hi Fidele! Super excited that you are regular reader and more important that you took the time to share your thoughts with us. Really appreciate it.

      Reply
  3. sylvie says

    Posted on 10/19 at 10:20PM

    I just made the pancakes this morning there are simply extraordinary. I couldn’t stop eating and my kids loved it. I am from Cameroon and have made our pancakes several times but it looks nor taste nothing like this. Thanks for your research and efforts that came up with such great receipe. Thumbs up

    Reply
  4. Takor W. says

    Posted on 5/26 at 4:39AM

    28 year old single man here, and your site is my Bible.
    I recently discovered it and it’s made my weekends fun.
    Now my kitchen isn’t just another room to fill up with books and old screw drivers

    Reply
    • ImmaculateBites says

      Posted on 5/26 at 5:23PM

      Hi William! That is such a sweet thing to say-thanks for taking the time to let me know.AND no more gadgets in the kitchen! Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply
  5. amy says

    Posted on 1/1 at 10:52AM

    firsr attempt and nailed them – wonderful recipe! I didn’t add the oil (forgot) and they were fine. I’m not sure what the added oil would do in the recipe. A touch less sugar would also be fine, especially if you wanted to add savory ingredients after they’re finished. They were a bit heavy tasting – I’m also wondering if a little more milk or touch of water would have thinned them out (or perhaps that’s what the oil would have done). All in all, excellent recipe and makes me think of being back in South Africa!

    Reply
    • ImmaculateBites says

      Posted on 1/1 at 12:04PM

      Amy, oil helps to thin it out. You may sub oil with water or milk. Thanks for the feedback! Happy New Year!

      Reply
  6. Gail J Morris says

    Posted on 7/30 at 2:02PM

    I love crepes and these look wonderful. Thanks for the recipe. My next to try. I found it on Pinterest : )

    Reply
    • ImmaculateBites says

      Posted on 7/31 at 9:41AM

      Gail, Let me know how it works for you.Thanks for taking the time to comment.

      Reply
  7. Sandelle says

    Posted on 4/18 at 6:10AM

    These are amazing! I’ve been making them every weekend for my husband and I. Sometimes I add cinnamon for a different taste. Still very good and very moist. I’ll continue the tradition even after we’ve had kids.

    Reply
  8. kuchennefascynacje says

    Posted on 1/15 at 5:08AM

    They are amazing !!!!!!!!!! The best I’ve ever done. Sweet, soft and beautiful smelling. Thank you for this recipe 🙂

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 1/15 at 10:21AM

      Aww, thank you for such a sweet comment!

      Reply
  9. Nene says

    Posted on 12/7 at 8:08AM

    I wanted to try breakfast a tad bit different today so I looked no further than africanbites. The pancakes turned out perfectly delicious. I used very little syrup which A bit sweet so I’m just going to use a little jam. Either way I can eat it alone with nothing else. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 12/17 at 4:40PM

      Thanks for the feedback Nene.

      Reply
  10. Eric Nkengla says

    Posted on 11/27 at 11:36PM

    Hi, am about to try this, never done it before. Just wanna surprise wifey. Hope it goes well. Lol

    Eric

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 12/17 at 4:42PM

      Eric, how sweet of you to surprise wifey, let me know how she likes it.

      Reply
  11. Chommy says

    Posted on 11/23 at 2:37PM

    PLS can u teach queens cake tanx

    Reply
  12. Leni says

    Posted on 9/13 at 2:02AM

    5 stars
    Your pancakes are amazing and very similar to the ones that are made in Austria – we like to eat it rolled up with jam 🙂 I’ll definitely try the trick with the butter..

    thanks for sharing
    Leni

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 9/13 at 10:11AM

      Leni, the butter makes the pancakes more flavorful . Thanks for commenting.

      Reply
  13. kelsey says

    Posted on 9/8 at 11:12AM

    How many tsp of salt for the pancake?

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 9/8 at 12:05PM

      1/2 teaspoon salt.

      Reply
  14. Fawn says

    Posted on 8/15 at 2:24PM

    Nice! I went to Africa this summer and these look just like the pancakes I had there. Kind of like crepes!

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 8/15 at 4:31PM

      Fawn, they are just like crepes only a little thicker.

      Reply
    • Jayne says

      Posted on 4/22 at 2:39AM

      4 stars
      We loved these pancakes. We usually make American pancakes, but discovered this recipe as it was part of a homeschooling project. The kids loved it, they enjoyed being able to roll the pancakes but they are thicker than crepes and have more bite. I added a little baking powder. We will definitely make again. Thank you.

      Reply
      • ImmaculateBites says

        Posted on 4/22 at 6:06AM

        Glad to hear this. Thanks for the feedback.

  15. purabi naha says

    Posted on 8/14 at 3:25AM

    Beautiful!! I have never tried african pancakes. Now I will.

    Reply
    • Africanbites says

      Posted on 8/14 at 7:08AM

      Purabi, Let me know how you like it. Thanks for leaving a comment.

      Reply
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