The pancake batter is ready in the mixing bowl in 30 seconds, and then it needs to sit and do nothing for half an hour. That sounds odd, but it is the whole trick. We have been making pancakes regularly for years, and the difference between going straight into the pan and waiting 30 minutes is so clear that we never skip the resting time.
With 300 g flour, 500 g milk and 5 eggs we get 10 thin pancakes that stay pliable and do not tear when turning. Below you will find four recipes: basic batter, sweet filling, rhubarb, apple. We can now make the basic batter in our sleep.
Rhubarb Pancakes with Buttermilk Lemon Ice Cream, Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 200 g flour
- 330 g milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 50 g sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 stalks rhubarb
- oil for frying
- 4 scoops buttermilk lemon ice cream
Instructions 0 / 6
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1
Add flour, milk and salt to the mixing bowl and mix for 20 sec / speed 4.
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2
Add eggs and stir for 10 sec / speed 4. Leave the batter to rest for 15 minutes.
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3
Meanwhile, trim and peel the rhubarb, slice it thinly, place in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and leave to rest for 5 minutes.
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4
Add the rhubarb to the batter in the mixing bowl and fold in for 5 sec / reverse direction / speed 3.
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5
Heat oil in a frying pan and cook 8 pancakes.
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6
Serve with our buttermilk lemon ice cream.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Why 30 minutes of resting time makes all the difference
Pancake batter without resting time produces tough, crumbly pancakes. With resting time it becomes smooth and thin. All that separates them is 30 minutes, nothing more.
The reason is flour mechanics. When the flour first comes into contact with milk and egg, it has not yet absorbed the liquid. The starch granules need time to swell. At the same time, mixing develops gluten, and the gluten contracts like a rubber band. It is exactly that taut gluten that makes pancakes tough.
30 minutes of rest solves both problems at once. The starch takes up the full liquid, the batter becomes homogeneous. The gluten relaxes, and the pancakes turn thin, soft and no longer tear when turned. We simply leave the mixing bowl on the worktop and cover it with the lid. No extra bowl to wash, no transferring.
The Thermomix® handles the part that is genuinely annoying by hand: blend 300 g flour, 500 g milk and a pinch of salt for 20 seconds at speed 4, then add 5 eggs and blend again for 10 seconds at speed 5. Lump-free, without any whisk acrobatics. Anyone who has tried this with cold milk and a bowl knows those little flour pockets stuck to the side. In the mixing bowl they simply do not form.
The ingredients and why the ratio works
Pancakes are a 4-ingredient recipe: flour, milk, eggs, salt. Everything else is ratio. For 300 g flour we use 500 g milk and 5 eggs. More milk makes the batter too runny and the pancakes tear, less milk makes them thick and dense. Five eggs give the batter enough structure to turn without tasting like an omelette.
For flour we use Type 405 or Type 550. Wholemeal flour works too, but add an extra 50 g milk, otherwise the wholemeal absorbs too much liquid. The milk can happily be at room temperature, it then combines with the flour more quickly. Straight from the fridge is fine too, the Thermomix® evens things out during blending.
For the sweet version we add 30 g sugar straight in with the flour. For savoury pancakes we leave the sugar out and fill them afterwards with cream cheese, ham, smoked salmon or spinach. The basic batter stays the same.
Where pancakes go tough or tear
Batter straight into the pan after mixing
This is the main reason for tough pancakes. Without 30 minutes of resting time the flour has not absorbed the milk and the gluten is still taut. The result: rubbery rather than tender. Our solution: simply leave the mixing bowl on the worktop for 30 minutes after blending. That is the most important half-hour of the recipe.
Pancakes tear when turning
If the batter falls apart when you turn it, the pancake is either lacking binding or fat. Too few eggs make the batter unstable, and without properly hot fat the pancake sticks to the base. Our solution: stick to the ratio of 300 g flour to 5 eggs, and only grease the pan once it is hot. We use clarified butter or rapeseed oil, both handle medium heat better than plain butter.
Pancakes turn black or spotty
Butter looks appealing in the pan but burns at medium heat. Black spots on pancakes usually come from scorched milk proteins in the butter. Our solution: we use clarified butter for flavour, or neutral rapeseed oil when speed matters. Keep the heat at medium, no higher is needed.
Batter too thick or too thin
Sometimes the flour absorbs more liquid than expected, especially with wholemeal flour. Sometimes the eggs are extra large and the batter turns too thin. Our solution: for batter that is too thick, add 30 g milk and mix for 5 seconds at speed 3. For batter that is too thin, add 20 g flour and treat it the same way.
Sweet with cinnamon sugar, savoury with spinach
The basic batter works in any direction, and we vary it depending on mood and what is in the fridge.
- Classic sweet: add 30 g sugar to the flour, then sprinkle the finished pancakes with cinnamon sugar and a squeeze of lemon. Works well with apple sauce or jam too.
- Sparkling water variation: replace 100 g of the milk with sparkling mineral water and add it only after the resting time, then mix for 5 seconds at speed 3. Makes the pancakes extra light.
- Apple in the batter: slice 2 Boskop apples thinly, lay them in the pan and pour the batter over them. Whip the egg whites separately until stiff and fold them in at the end, otherwise the apple slices will not support the batter.
- Savoury with smoked salmon: leave out the sugar, spread the finished pancake with cream cheese, top with smoked salmon and dill, roll up and slice into pieces.
- Spinach and cream cheese: again without sugar, spread with cream cheese, top with spinach and a little grated Parmesan, roll up like a wrap.
- Oven pancake for a crowd: preheat the oven with a baking tray to 200°C, grease the tray with butter, pour in the batter and bake for 10 minutes. Saves standing at the hob when the whole family is waiting to eat.
If the batter turns out too thick, the pancake gets torn up, dusted with icing sugar and served with a little apple sauce. That puts us in the territory of improvised Kaiserschmarrn, which is one of the best happy-accident recipes there is.
Pancake relatives from the Thermomix®
Once you start making pancakes with the Thermomix®, you will find a few close relatives right alongside. For a paper-thin version with French roots there is the recipe for Crêpes from the Thermomix®, noticeably thinner than our pancakes but wider. For the thick, fluffy breakfast version, Buttermilk Pancakes are worth trying, they turn light through buttermilk and baking powder rather than whipped egg whites.
If you have batter left over after frying, it goes straight into Pancake Soup: slice into fine strips and serve in hot broth. A classic way to use up leftovers. Anyone who likes something more substantial can use the batter for a Mince and Pancake Bake, where the pancakes are layered with mince and cheese and baked in the oven.
1 day in the fridge, frozen for 1 month
Freshly cooked pancakes keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 2 days. To keep them warm straight after cooking we place them in the oven at 50°C fan on a baking tray lined with baking paper until everyone is ready and the family sits down to eat.
Freezing works very well. We stack the cooled pancakes with baking paper between each layer and pack them into a freezer bag. They keep for about a month without sticking together. To defrost, place them in a non-stick pan over medium heat for about one minute per side until warm and pliable again. The microwave works too, but they come out a little softer.
We do not leave raw batter in the fridge overnight. After 8 hours of chilling it loses elasticity, and the pancakes turn flatter and slightly tough. Better to mix fresh, rest for 30 minutes and cook straight away.
Our four pancake recipes
We start with the basic batter. The other three recipes are variations we make most often.
Pan, heat, the right moment to turn
We set the non-stick pan to level 6 out of 9, so just above medium heat. Test: a drop of water must hiss and evaporate immediately in the pan before it is hot enough. Only then do we add half a teaspoon of clarified butter and spread it thinly across the base with a piece of kitchen paper. One ladle of batter into the centre, then immediately swirl the pan in circles until the batter reaches the edges. Spreading with a spoon gives streaky pancakes. After about a minute the edge visibly lifts away from the pan base and the top surface loses its sheen. That is the moment to turn. The second side needs only 30 to 40 seconds.
More cakes and tarts from the Thermomix® can be found in our cake collection.
Goes well with: apple sauce, strawberry jam and vanilla sauce.
You might also enjoy: Germany Glass Dessert, Thermomix®.
Basic Pancake Recipe
Pancakes with Sweet Filling
Rhubarb Pancakes
A seasonal recipe from rhubarb season. We serve the rhubarb pancakes with homemade buttermilk lemon ice cream, which gives a lovely balance of tartness and sweetness.
Apple Pancakes with Boskop
When grandma’s apple tree drops Boskop apples in late summer, they turn into apple pancakes. The pancakes need to be a little thicker here, otherwise the apple slices will not hold. The trick: whip the egg whites separately until stiff and fold them in at the end, that makes them fluffy enough to carry the amount of apple.
For anyone who wants more sweet ideas: our Thermomix® rice pudding is also ready in 30 minutes, and the banana caramel layer dessert takes only a few minutes and pairs well with leftover pancakes.
