ottawa foodies

Just ate the best pancakes ever at Wendy's diner, Massena NY. They are carrot cake/walnut pancakes with cream cheese spread. Yes they taste like carrot cake, but are definitely still pancakes. The cook wouldn't share his secret for their incredible crisp texture on the exterior, while staying light and fluffy inside. Is there someone who knows more about the science of flapjack cookery who can tell me how to perform this miracle? is it griddle temperature? some secret ingredient in the batter? All I know is that the surface was thin and crispy unlike any other pancake I've tasted.

Sounds delish!

There's probably something secret in the pancake itself, but I'd bet that at least part of the crispiness is due to the griddle being really hot and covered with butter.

Try a hot hot griddle and a mix of butter and veg oil

Try a hot hot griddle and a mix of butter and veg oil

Maybe the outside was fried in a pan?

usually when you fry stuff it is crispy on the outside, also if they are very thin that helps!

Possibly dusted in icing sugar to create the caramelisation on the griddle?

Those sound really good!

Not sure but I always find regular pancakes 'too soft' and I like how thin and slightly crispy, yet moist in the middle my 'beer pancakes' are. Try substituting all the liquid in a pancake recipe with room temp beer, omit egg and then equal parts shredded carrot and chopped walnuts and some typical carrot cake spices.....hot flat pan, and just peanut oil.

Maybe not what you're looking for.....

My mom used to cook her pancakes in a cast iron pan with Saindoux, aka lard. They were always crispy, fluffy and sooooo good.

I'm channelling True Blood to a certain extent, but if you finish the pancakes in the bacon pan the world is a better place.

Thanks everybody. They were indeed thick but fluffy and I'm going to experiment. I'm thinking this idea could be adapted: Red velvet pancakes? Lemon pound cake pancakes? My grandmother used to make a spice cake with tomato soup. I think that could be converted to pancakes too.

Cooking pancakes in hot oil (enough to generously cover the bottom of the pan) makes them super crisp on the outside, they basically deep fry on the outside. This is obviously not the healthiest option but they taste amazing.

Agree with Sadie--the 'secret' is to use a lot of oil.

You can probably use any cake mix to make pancakes or doughnuts I'm pretty sure!

then add flavorings like almond extract and cherries, or raisins and carrots or whatever!

I want a good crepe!
Went to Cinnamon Xpress and the plain crepe was good, but the guy added too much honey on it...on top of the cinnamon and sugar!

I was told that Stella Luna was supposed to have crepes and waffles but went there a few days ago...hungry too!
And was told "no crepes or waffles till November at least...."

Thumbs down for that.
guess I'll make some at home or somethin!

@prettytasty, to me crepes and pancakes are different things. The crepe should be paper thin, the pancake thick. My wife makes Breton crepes and I've never interfered :-) or gotten the recipe. I can ask her if you like. Sometimes you see Breton crepes (there are generally two kinds, sweet and salt) for sale (already cooked, just unfold and warm on a skillet) in packages at Metro and other places on the Quebec side. Since the crepes cook fast, you can turn out a lot in the same time you need to make one pancake, so it's about as efficient to do crepes as pancakes. Crepes we put filling in and fold over. Pancakes we pour syrup on or spread jam on. Actually I started sprinkling pancakes with garlic salt and eating them salty. I like it. Sometimes I prefer something salty at breakfast, rather than sweet.

Those are very good-looking pancakes, blubarry.

The icing sugar idea is a good one, or for an even coarser crisp, raw can sugar; I use the latter on French toast which almost candies on top of the bread.

My girlfriend puts maple syrup in the batter, which is the knockout punch to an otherwise already very good pancake recipe.

Another thing I was thinking about was maybe try some rice flour?

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Lest anyone think I'm a pancake snob, here is a photo of this morning's breakfast. Aunt Jemima "Confetti" pancakes. Frozen toaster pancakes with bits of candy in them. The box says "made with love, not preservatives" but apparently love and the sh**load of chemicals on the label are not mutually exclusive.

The taste met my expectations.

Cast iron pan, generous with the oil, and a little bit of cornmeal in the batter.
Also, I never put blueberries or chocolate chips in the batter....too much mess in the pan. I pour in the batter, let it set slightly but not enough that it's ready to flip, then sprinkle on the blueberries or chips and poke each one in with my finger so that they are completely enclosed in batter when I flip them.

@blubarry, I'm surprised that brand is still around.