Happy Shrove Tuesday, everybody! For those outside the UK, today is also known as Pancake Day. Funny that. In South Africa, whenever we have a grey, cloudy and rainy day, we call it a “pancake day”. Outside privately owned coffee shops notice boards will appear on the sidewalk, inviting you in for pancakes and tea. No wonder they don’t have this tradition over here, otherwise all the Britons will end up looking like this popular dessert! Cinnamon and sugar is the traditional South African way to serve pancakes with. Try it and you’ll understand why.
More pancake ideas:
Would you like to save this?
- These cream cheese pancakes with a fruity twist also sound grand.
- For the ultimate indulgence, try these banana and chocolate ones.
📖 Recipe
Pancakes with Cinnamon & Sugar
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you are looking for the perfect pancake recipe, then these cinnamon sugar pancakes are definitely worthy. These pancakes might even beat your grandmothers' cook book recipe! Give these a go!
Ingredients
- 125ml (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 10ml (2 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 100g (4 oz) plain flour
- 2 eggs
- 300ml (10 fl oz) milk
- 15ml (1 tbsp) sunflower or vegetable oil, plus extra for frying
Instructions
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
- Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack the eggs into the well and whisk the mixture together. Gradually whisk in the milk until you have a smooth batter. Stir the oil into the pancake batter.
- To get the right thickness, heat the pan over a moderate heat, and then wipe it with oiled kitchen paper. Ladle some batter into the pan, tilting the pan to move the mixture around for a thin and even layer. Quickly pour any excess batter into a jug, return the pan to the heat, then leave to cook, undisturbed for about 30 seconds. Pour the excess batter from the jug back into the mixing bowl. If the pan is the right temperature, the pancake should turn golden underneath after about 30 seconds and will be ready to turn. Flip over and cook for a further minute. Transfer to a plate and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter to make 8 pancakes.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon and sugar liberally over each pancake and roll tightly. If the pancakes are stacked and kept warm, the sugar will slowly melt. This will be the best time to eat them.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 115
- Sugar: 8.5 g
- Sodium: 37 mg
- Fat: 3.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.6 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 48 mg
Danielle
brilliant, can't wait to try this even though I used to live in SA i don't remember my mom making them with cinnamon, I tried to pin it to pinterest but I couldn't find a pinterest button for just this one so i've bookmarked the page
Michelle
Good news, Danielle. All images are now Pinnable. Thanks for the feedback!
Rene
Pancakes built many Churches and helped many fundraisings in South Africa.
Any festival ,Market,where money is to be made have got a pancake stall ,that sells pancakes.
Old Age homes bake pancakes outside supermarkets to raise funds.
It is just an amazing part of the Afrikaner Culture in South Africa.
Margot
Oh, I always leave couple of pancakes without the filling to refry them later with sugar alone! Adding cinnamon ins a great idea! 🙂 I Made some Cream Cheese Pancakes in Orange Sauce yesterday... adding link to your pancakes there 😉
Zee
Hmmmmmnnnn!!! Absolutely divine!!! Now if u luv decadents like I do then serve these with a whipped fresh cream- & sliced banana filling...It's simply THE BEST!!!
Sheri
Just tried these - and it brought back memories of home in a flash. We used to buy (why make when they were so readily available) them from the church tannies every Saturday morning, cloudy or otherwise:)
Janie
I would like to know how many cups of flour is 100g? Sorry to ask but I don't have a scale to weigh it....
Jo
sugar, water, milk and butter are 250g to a cup, and flour is half of that (125g - make sure that it is lightly spooned into the cup, not scooped and pressed.) So just about 4/5 of a cup will be 100g, I am guessing.
Michelle
Thanks for helping out, Jo!
shelley
Yummy! Even with a 3 year old helping, these turned out beautifully and tasted great. My little boy really wanted to make pancakes, and the other recipes we have tried he wouldnt eat. He loves these ones 🙂
Tandiwe
Hmmmmmmmmmmm, I have been craving pancakes for two weeks now. Thanks for this recipe, it looks really easy. I'm going to make them tonight.
My favourite filling/topping is a teeny bit of butter, lots of lemon juice, and a squirt of honey with a sprinkle of cinnemon! It's the best way to eat them!
mallenna
I must say pancakes (crepes) are one of the favourite desserts in my family, although my recipe is a quite different.
I prefer them with home made plum jam or nutella.
Jeanne
I grew up thinking it's the ONLY way that pancakes could ever be eaten! My dad had his with more sugar than cinnamon and my mom had hers with a little squeeze of lemon. Cinnamon is so big in SA cuisine - we permanently had a pot of cinnamon sugar beside the normal sugar bowl for using in desserts or on pumpkin/gem squash.
Windy
Interesting, I remember when I lived with a South African family when I studied at SA, they put cinnamon and sugar on their pancakes. However, I didn't know that is South African way of eating it until now!
Robyn
I can say for a fact that these pancakes are absolutely gorgeous - i wasnt a pancake lover until i tried these - thank you michelle 🙂
Patricia Scarpin
I'm bookmarking this recipe now - I love thin pancakes like these and with cinnamon I can't resist!
Pete
Wow, your photos really are stunning.
Kevin
These sound simple and delicious. Nice photos.
michelle
Thanks, Kevin!
Hillary
Those are beautiful the way you wrapped them up like that! They look like a variation on cinnamon rolls! I would LOVE them for breakfast.
Tom
Mmm, looking at those photos reminds me of the lefse my mom used to make (minus the potatoes in the dough). When shmeared with butter and cinnamon-sugar, they made for an awesome treat.