Pancake Mix Crepes Recipe feat. Maya Hotcake Mix

This foolproof pancake mix crepe recipe is a surefire way to say “I love you” whether or not it’s Valentine’s! Mix and match filling combinations to find “the one” for you!

I contemplated for a while whether I should make something for Valentine’s this year. I mean, I don’t even make a fuss for my own birthday so skipping Valentine’s is definitely no problem. It’s not that I hate Valentine’s or anything like that– although I do feel like the sky-high prices of flowers for this particular occasion is too much– I’m just too lazy to celebrate it haha!

Most people would say that showing love shouldn’t be limited to Valentine’s; that it should be an everyday thing. While that’s entirely true, you can look at it a different way actually: Valentine’s is a good excuse to add an extra-special element, an oomph if you will, to that daily dose of love.

This recipe I’m sharing with you is something I decided to whip up last minute. See, I hadn’t gone to the grocery since December last year, and when I opened the pantry doors here at home I realized I had no flour, no sugar. I did have butter left in the fridge, but no milk. Basically I didn’t have many of the basic building blocks I needed for baking. I’ve just been too busy that I didn’t have time to check up on my supplies. Boo.

And then I remembered receiving some products from Maya Hotcake Mix last year. The great thing about using these cake mixes occasionally is that you realise how convenient they are in moments like this, when you barely have anything left in the pantry and fridge!

Now I’m not getting paid to write about this despite being sent the products, but as a long-time user of Maya Hotcake Mix, I knew that whatever I made using it would taste good. While I’ve never tried it until today, I opted to make a recipe for Pancake Mix Crepes that I saw on their site.

If I wasn’t a solid fan before, now I am so sold on the versatility of this yummy hotcake mix. We’ve always cooked it as pancakes and corndogs, but I feel like thanks to the formulation of the mix it makes some pretty darn good crepes too! I actually enjoyed making this Pancake Mix Crepes recipe so much I went snap-happy about it, so I’ve got lots of pictures to share. I hope you’re ready.

Recipe notes

It’s a good thing I had all the ingredients on hand that I needed to make crepes out of this small packet of hotcake mix: Eggs, melted butter, and water. To make at least 10 crepes you’ll make use of just a cup of hotcake mix, so for the small 200-gram pack you’ll have like half a cup leftover if you follow this recipe. (Just add half a recipe more and cook all the hotcake mix! You won’t regret it hihihi…)

The only thing you have to remember is to follow the sequence of ingredients to add into the bowl. Start with the eggs, beating them lightly to break the yolks apart. Then stir in the cooled butter, water, and finally the hotcake mix.

I like using a whisk for this to make my life easier. If at first you don’t see it coming together, just keep mixing until no more lumps are left in your mixture. It will look smooth and fairly thin.

Now you’re ready to cook! Take your 8-inch nonstick skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Brush a thin layer of oil or butter around your pan to prevent sticking, and then pour in your batter using a 1/4 cup measure. (You can fill to the brim or keep it below, depending on your preference.)

You have to swirl it as soon as you pour your batter in. The crepes are so thin they tend to cook before you can spread them out over the surface of the pan if you’re slow. If you don’t get the surface evenness on the first try, you’ll get the hang of it the more you make it. (It won’t matter anyway once you eat it!)

Once you see the edges of your crepes start to brown, it’s time to flip. Cooking it won’t take long really. Not even 30 seconds! For flipping, I like to use a spatula with a long surface area so I can get underneath the crepe in one go.

The good thing about using pancake mix is that the resulting crepes don’t break easily and stay intact through flipping, so it’s practically impossible to mess up! If you’re doing the flip for the first time, don’t be afraid. Flip it in one quick motion to reveal that nice golden surface on the other side!

The other side takes less time to cook through, and normally since this side is dry already you can just slide it out of your pan and onto your plate. Now just repeat this process until you’ve used up all your batter.

Now we get to the fun part! FILLINGS. Just like feelings are the center of any relationship, the filling is what will help your crepes shine even more in this sea of Valentine’s desserts!

I had every intention of making this post super short but I ended up enjoying myself too much at this stage. I “purged” my pantry and fridge for viable filling options, and it turns out I have plenty of leftover stuff from recipes I’ve made before that didn’t make the cut for the blog.

I’m not saying you have to follow these fillings exactly because you can totally use whatever you like, but here are just some of my suggestions, based on stuff I found in my kitchen. 😀

First up, Caramel Banana Crepes. How ironic is it that I would have dulce de leche in my fridge but not have milk. There were some nicely ripe bananas sitting on the dining table as well, and we all know from the Banoffee Pie craze what a perfect combination dulce de leche and bananas can be. Since there was chocolate syrup in the fridge I pulled that out too!

So there are two ways I like to assemble crepes and I’ll show each one with each filling option I’m sharing here today. First style is the TRIANGLE. I feel like there isn’t really a specific rule for assembling a crepe but here’s how I do it: First, I spread a layer of my dulce de leche (or Nutella!) on half of the crepe. I then add some bananas over this spread, but just on the other half of it. (A quarter portion of the whole crepe.)

Now we fold the clean half of the crepe from top to the bottom portion with the filling.

Then fold in half again from one side to the other.

That’s it basically! All that’s left is to place your crepes on a serving plate and drizzle with chocolate syrup!

This option I would serve to people who I know love sweet things. The dulce de leche is a bit on the sweet side, but if you put too thin a layer then you won’t get that caramel-y note in your crepes that work well with the bananas. You can serve this with cream too of course, to help lighten up the sweetness. Either way, it’s pretty yummy!

The other flavour is called Berries & Cream. This one makes use of a homemade whipped cream and some canned pie filling you can buy from the supermarket. I had a can of cherry filling lying around begging to be used for this recipe, so I obliged.

To make the whipped cream by the way, take 1 cup of cold heavy cream (chilled all purpose cream should work fine too) and beat with about a Tablespoon of confectioner’s sugar until soft peaks form. It does take some time to whip this into a stiffness so I highly recommend using a hand mixer, otherwise, you’re going to get very tired using a whisk! If you chill your bowl and your beaters before use, it will help quicken the process.

Anyway, just take that thickened cream and scoop some in a vertical line on the middle portion of the crepe. Spoon some fruits on top, making sure not to flatten the fluffed up cream underneath too much.

All that’s left is to fold both sides of the crepe on top of the filling, like wrapping it in a hug! This is the ROLL.

And that’s assembly style number two for ya! Once I have these crepe rolls on my serving plate, I like to add a little dollop more of whipped cream, plus a bit more fruit as well. You can shower your crepes in powdered sugar, but I think chocolate syrup is the better option here once again. No wonder all the crepes shops use it huh?

This particular filling style with a good dose of cream I would serve to those who I know enjoy luxurious desserts. (Everyone basically, but others prefer something sweeter.) That lovely cream balances out the sweet tang of the cherry filling I used, so I always like pairing strong tasting fruits like these with plain cream.

These crepes sold out like, er… Pancakes, when I served them. They look pretty flashy for something involving a shortcut! It doesn’t even matter if you’re single, married, or whatever. For Valentine’s, anybody– and I really believe, anybody— can whip these Pancake Mix Crepes up for their loved ones. I honestly feel that they’re foolproof.

I especially see this as a perfect treat for a Galentine’s gathering, because it makes a whole lot of crepes for a whole lot of people! Love during Valentine’s isn’t limited to the romantic kind anyway, right? I’d make these crepes for a Girls Night In in a heartbeat, and with how easy it is I wouldn’t even have an excuse!

And because tomorrow is Valentine’s, I decided to make you guys a little present. It’s a magazine page printable version of the recipe! It’s my little way of saying “I love you” to my readers. Do you enjoy seeing these kinds of graphics on the blog? Maybe I should make more of them.

For now, I’m sending you all a virtual crepe to enjoy. And if you’re looking for the text only version of the recipe, I’ve got it down there too.

Shortcut Pancake Mix Crepes

Makes 10 to 12

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted & cooled
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup hotcake mix
• Whipped cream, chocolate spreads, fresh fruits, canned fruits, and other filling/topping options you desire

Instructions

• 1. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Pour in the butter, water, then the hotcake mix, in that order. Stir until mixture is smooth and has no lumps.
• 2. Heat an 8-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, then brush lightly with oil.
• 3. Using a 1/4-cup measure, pour crepe mixture into pan. Immediately tilt pan side to side until the batter covers the whole surface of the pan as evenly as possible. Cook until set on each side. Transfer to a plate.
• 4. Repeat for the remaining crepe mix. Once all the batter has been used up, set the crepes aside to cool as you prepare the filling.

Filling suggestions

• A. Caramel Banana- Take some dulce de leche (or chocolate/Nutella spread even) and spread onto half of the crepe. Layer bananas on top of the spread and fold into a triangle. Top with syrup or whatever you desire.
• B. Berries & Cream- Whip your cream with a bit of sugar until soft peaks, then spread in the middle of the crepe. Place some fruit on top and then fold either side of the crepe over the filling. Top with more cream, syrup, or whatever you desire.

Notes

Full disclosure: I received products from Maya Hotcake Mix, but all opinions stated above are mine.