Is your family tired of the same ordinary pancakes? Want to make an easy and fun recipe that even kids can help make? Try this pancake in the shape of everyone's favorite cartoon mouse! This recipe is simple, easy, and only takes a few minutes – perfect for an after-stay breakfast.
Ingredients
For Basic Pancakes
- Pancake Dough –Click for recipe; Any standard pancake batter from a pancake mix or from a base can be used.
- Butter
- Spread according to taste (syrup, jam, honey, peanut butter, etc.)
For Optional Details
- Chocolate chips
- Blueberries
- Strawberry; halved
- Chocolate sauce
- Turkey pipette (turkey baster)
Step
Part 1 of 2: Basic Pancakes
Step 1. Beat the pancake batter
Basically, you can make Mickey Mouse pancakes from any regular pancake batter. It doesn't matter whether you make it from scratch or use a pancake mix (Haan, Pondan, etc.).
For some delicious pancake recipes, visit our guide to pancake batter. There is also a recipe for gluten-free pancakes on this page
Step 2. Heat the butter in a large frying pan or skillet
Add butter (about a tablespoon or two should suffice) to the skillet. Heat the skillet on the stove over medium heat. The butter should melt quickly. Spread on the surface of the pan until the surface is evenly coated.
- A wider pan is best for this step – keep in mind that you should have enough room for Mickey's giant ears.
- If you don't want to use butter, try using margarine or a flavorless cooking oil (such as vegetable oil or canola oil).
Step 3. Spoon the pancakes into the pan
When the pan is hot enough that a drop of water will sizzle and “dance” when it hits the pan, you are ready to cook. Place a small amount of batter in a cup or spoon and pour into the pan. About cup of batter should be enough for a medium-sized pancake. Pour the dough into a single pile and let it slowly expand into a flat circle.
Try to leave room in the pan on one side of the pancake for Miki's ears
Step 4. Spoon two more pancakes (which touch the larger pancake) to the pan
Pour two more pancakes about 2.5 cm from the head and allow them to expand until they touch the first pancake. Here comes the famous Mickey Mouse ears! Make both ears on the same side of the head, but with a distance of 2.5-5 cm between them. The ears should touch the head, but not touch each other.
The ear pancake should be smaller than the first pancake. Miki has big ears, but no bigger than her head
Step 5. Check to see if the first side is done
Cook until bubbles begin to form, burst, and remain open on the surface of the dough. Slip a metal or wooden spatula under the edges of the pancake and peek at the bottom. If it looks golden-brown, the pancake is ready to be flipped. If they are light, add a minute or two of cooking time.
The thicker the pancake, the longer it will take to reach this "reversibility" point
Step 6. Flip carefully
Tuck the spatula under the center of the head. If your spatula is wide enough, try to support the ears as well. With one confident motion of your wrist, lift the pancake, flip it over, and drop it back into the skillet upside down.
- This step is the only tricky part of making Mickey Mouse pancakes. The ear lobe makes the pancake a little awkward to flip right over in one fell swoop – one ear could easily be accidentally torn off. If you have trouble, Wikihow also has help articles on this topic.
- If you lose an ear when you flip the pancake, let it cook on its own. Just before serving the pancakes, move it to the side of the head again. Drop a small amount of fresh dough between the ears and head and cook for about another minute. It can act like “glue” to reattach the ear to the head.
Step 7. Serve hot with your favorite toppings
After a few more minutes, use the same spatula trick to check for golden brown on the underside. When you have them, your pancakes are probably done. Carefully transfer to a plate, watching for drooping ears. Garnish with any syrup or toppings you like and enjoy!
If you're worried about the pancakes being undercooked, make small incisions in the thickest part to look for lumps of undercooked dough. Serve the pancakes with this side on the bottom if you think your child will complain about the cut on Miki's face
Step 8. Add enough lubricant for extra pancakes
Each pancake you make will absorb some of the butter (or oil, etc.) used to grease the pan. If your pan looks dry, wipe it down briefly with a paper towel and then add some more of the lubricant.
Don't overlook this – if you don't grease the pan well, the pancakes will stick to the pan. This will make the pancakes difficult to turn over (and can burn them)
Part 2 of 2: Ideas for Additional Details
Step 1. Make a smiley from chocolate chips or berries
Want to give your guests or kids a sweet surprise? One easy way to do this is to add delicious ingredients to the dough to make Mickey's face. For best results, use something sweet and dark in color (like chocolate or blueberries) so you can see (and feel) her smile!
Add the mouth and eyes on the pancakes immediately after pouring all the batter. This will give the ingredients time to soak into the dough, making it less likely to come off the pancake
Step 2. Use banana slices for detailed eyes
To reconstruct Mickey's eyes according to the cartoon ones, you just need to use a banana and some berries or chocolate chips. For this addition, it's best to wait for both sides of the pancake to fully cook. When serving pancakes, thinly slice two bananas in an oval shape (cut the banana diagonally to make an oval shape). Place the two banana slices in the center of the head to make the whites of Miki's eyes. Place a chocolate chip or berry in the bottom corner of each eye to make Miki's eyes pop
If you want Miki to have a mouth too, add a smile with chocolate chips or berries before flipping the pancake for the first time
Step 3. Use the halved strawberries to make a ribbon for the Mini Mouse
The Mini Mouse's face is very similar to Miki's, but she almost always wears a pink or red ribbon. To make this ribbon, cut a strawberry in half. When serving pancakes, place the two halves on top of the Mini head with the smaller ends touching to form a ribbon.
Step 4. Use chocolate sauce to "paint" the dark parts of Miki's face
Miki's "hair" and ears are black. To give it a try, you can use chocolate sauce (or other dark-colored topping) to fill this portion of the pancake. When the pancakes are done, add a little sauce on each ear and smooth with the back of a spoon to color the ears. Then color the top edge of Miki's head with the sauce to create her "hairline".
If you want the pancakes to be as accurate as possible, add a widow's peak (a V-shaped hairline in the middle of the forehead) on Miki. In other words, make the hair gather tapered at the top of the forehead. You can look at any image of Mickey or Mini Mouse to see what this widow's peak looks like
Step 5. “Layer” the dough to create a graded portion
This trick is a bit challenging, but it's great for making amazing looking pancakes. You'll need a turkey pipette or pastry bag (a bag with a tapered tip to form a dough or cream) to scoop out a small amount of dough. The basic idea is to roll out the dough for the darkest parts of Miki's face first, then roll out the dough for the lighter parts. The dough that comes out the first will cook the longest, so it will be darker than the rest. See the steps below:
- Put a small amount of pancake batter into a turkey pipette or pastry bag.
- Draw Miki's mouth, nose, hairline, and eyes on the pan. For the eyes, don't just fill in the "white" part – just draw the outline and the eyes. Add two scoops of dough where the ears should be.
- Let it cook for a minute or two until golden brown.
- Add a spoonful of dough right in the middle of the face. This will be Miki's face and the whites of her eyes. It doesn't matter if this dough spreads to what was already made. Use a spoon or spatula to get a circle shape for the face.
- When the second mixture is golden-brown, carefully flip the pancake and cook the underside as usual. Miki's face should be clearly visible in the darkest part of the pancake.
Tips
- If possible, lay the finished pancakes on the cooking paper flat and wide. Covering or stacking them will make them wet and remove the crunchy texture.
- The second side of the pancake cooks faster than the first because there is less raw dough in the heat-absorbing pancake. Don't get burnt!
