Pancakes Around the World: 18 Kinds Worth Waking Up For
Batter on a hot surface is a universal idea, and the results are not. France goes paper-thin, India ferments and crisps, Japan builds a savoury cabbage tower, Uganda rolls an omelette into a chapati and names it after a watch. Here are 18 pancakes from around the world, each with an authentic recipe.
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Crêpes
FranceBatter spread paper-thin on a hot plate. Sweet with sugar and lemon, savoury with buckwheat.
Discover Crêpes, the heart and soul of French street food. These wonderfully thin, golden pancakes hail from the windswept region of Brittany in the north-west of France and have since charmed kitchens the world over. Crêpes are …
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Masala Dosa
IndiaFermented rice and lentil batter, crisped thin and wrapped around spiced potato.
Discover Masala Dosa, one of India's most iconic dishes. This crisp, golden pancake is made from a fermented batter of rice and lentils and wrapped around a fragrant, lightly spiced potato filling. With its delicate crunch, …
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Okonomiyaki
JapanCabbage and batter griddled thick, then sauced, mayonnaised and covered in bonito flakes.
Discover Okonomiyaki, one of Japan's most beloved savoury treats. Affectionately nicknamed the "Japanese pizza", this hearty pancake brings together a simple batter and a generous tangle of fresh cabbage, then finishes with a …
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Blini
RussiaSmall yeasted buckwheat pancakes. Russia eats stacks of them through Maslenitsa week.
Discover the variety of Russian cooking with Blini. These thin, golden-brown pancakes are a pleasure whether you serve them sweet or savoury. Light and delicate, they can be folded around a spoonful of soft cheese, draped with …
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Bánh Xèo
VietnamRice and turmeric batter fried crisp, folded over prawns and sprouts, wrapped in a lettuce leaf.
Meet Banh Xeo, the sizzling rice pancake that has become one of Vietnam's most beloved dishes. Crisp and golden, tinted a sunny yellow with turmeric, it is folded over a generous filling of meat, vegetables and fragrant herbs. The …
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Kaiserschmarrn
AustriaA thick pancake torn up in the pan and caramelised, served with plum compote.
Say hello to Kaiserschmarrn, one of Austria's most beloved sweet treats. This wonderfully fluffy, shredded pancake is studded with plump raisins and finished with a generous flurry of icing sugar. Simple to make yet utterly …
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Poffertjes
NetherlandsSmall yeasted puffs cooked in a dimpled pan, eaten with butter and icing sugar.
Meet Poffertjes, the puffy little pancakes that bring a touch of joy to any Dutch coffee table. These airy, bite-sized treats puff up golden in their dimpled pan and are traditionally finished with a snowfall of icing sugar. …
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Baghrir
MoroccoA semolina pancake with a thousand holes on top, soaked in butter and honey.
Meet Baghrir, Morocco's beloved "thousand-hole pancakes", light, spongy and utterly very good. Made from semolina and yeast, these airy little pancakes are riddled with tiny bubbles that soak up every drop of warm honey and melted …
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Hoppers
Sri LankaFermented coconut batter cooked in a bowl-shaped pan into a crisp edge and a soft centre.
Meet Hoppers, one of Sri Lanka's most beloved everyday classics. These bowl-shaped pancakes are made from little more than rice flour and coconut milk, yet they deliver a wonderful contrast of textures, lacy and crisp at the …
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Cachapas
VenezuelaFresh maize ground into batter, griddled and folded around soft white cheese.
Discover Cachapas, one of Venezuela's most beloved bites. These plump, faintly sweet corn pancakes are folded around a slab of soft white cheese that melts into every bite. Golden at the edges and tender in the middle, they make a …
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Cong You Bing
ChinaLayered dough with spring onion, coiled and pan-fried. Flaky rather than fluffy.
Meet Scallion Pancakes, a much-loved snack from the streets and home kitchens of China. These crisp, layered flatbreads are made from little more than dough and a generous scattering of fresh spring onions, yet the result is …
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Pajeon
South KoreaSpring onion pancake fried until the edges crisp. Koreans eat it on rainy days.
Say hello to Pajeon, one of South Korea's most comforting savoury treats. This traditional Korean pancake brings together a light, slightly chewy batter and a tumble of fresh vegetables for a snack that is every bit as satisfying …
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Pannkakor
SwedenThin Swedish pancakes with jam and cream, served after pea soup on Thursdays.
Discover Swedish pancakes, a beloved staple of Scandinavian home cooking. These wonderfully thin pancakes can be served sweet or savoury, making them just as welcome at the breakfast table as they are for pudding. Simple to whip …
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Anjero
SomaliaSomalia's fermented flatbread, spongy on one side, eaten with honey and sesame oil.
Discover Anjero with Honey, the softly fermented pancake that opens the day in kitchens across Somalia. Made from little more than flour, water and a whisper of yeast, it emerges from the pan lacy and full of tiny bubbles, ready …
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Rolex
UgandaAn omelette rolled in a chapati. Ugandan street food and a pun on rolled eggs.
Meet the Rolex, Uganda's most famous piece of street food, and no, it has nothing to do with watches. The name is a cheerful mangling of "rolled eggs", and that is exactly what it is: a vegetable-flecked omelette wrapped up in a …
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Rakott Palacsinta
HungaryHungarian pancakes stacked with walnut, jam and chocolate, then baked and cut like cake.
Discover Rakott Palacsinta, the layered Hungarian pancake bake that turns a simple stack of crêpes into a proper feast. Savoury minced meat, a creamy paprika sauce and a blanket of melted cheese are built up layer by layer, then …
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Apfelpfannkuchen
GermanyApple slices laid into the batter and fried, then dusted with cinnamon sugar.
Few dishes capture the cosy spirit of a German kitchen quite like apple pancakes. Tender slices of juicy apple folded into a light, airy batter and fried until golden, they are the kind of treat that works just as happily as a …
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Injera
EthiopiaTeff batter fermented for days. It is the plate, the cutlery and the bread all at once.
Meet Injera, the soft, tangy flatbread that sits at the very heart of Ethiopian dining. Made from nutty teff flour and fermented until it turns pleasantly sour, this spongy bread doubles as both plate and cutlery, ready to scoop …
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