The Pancake Hack You Need For The Easiest Breakfast

Have you ever woken up on a weekend morning thinking, "I know! I'll make pancakes!" only to find yourself growing bored over the griddle as your stomach growls? If so, you'll probably agree that, although pancakes may be a fairly simple food, making a batch can be a labor of love. How can you expedite the process without resorting to store-bought, frozen cakes?

One way, of course, is to cook an entire batch and freeze them, reheating the frozen rounds as needed. But, TikTok has introduced us to another way: freezing pancake batter in silicone ice cube trays and cooking the individual cubes when you're ready for a fast and tasty breakfast. While some may object that this doesn't seem to save much more time than the first method — freezing pre-cooked flapjacks — others claim that you'll be able to taste a difference in a fresh-cooked pancake versus one that has simply been reheated.

It's worth noting that this hack has not gone 100% smoothly for all who have tried it, and there are a few important things to keep in mind that can help ensure success. First, choose your ice cube tray wisely. A deeper tray can mean a taller tower of batter, which will cook less evenly. Plus, your batter may tip over, resulting in random shapes rather than perfect circles (not that they can't still taste good!). Opt for a tray with larger, shallower pockets.

Next, when cooking the pancakes, cover them with a lid. While this may not be conventional pancake-cooking behavior, it can help the frozen batter heat up more efficiently and result in a better-cooked end product. Thirdly, you'll want to cook them over low heat, not medium. Again, this maximizes even cooking. Finally, don't crowd your pan with batter cubes (especially if you're using the viral TikTok pancake-flipping hack, which works best with a single pancake at a time, anyway). Remember that they need some space to spread out.

You can make simple, unadorned buttermilk pancakes with this method, but many people who try this hack sprinkle toppings on top of the cubes. Although they start out on top, the toppings — berries, chocolate chips, etc. — should fully incorporate into the pancake as the batter thaws and cooks. No matter how you prefer to upgrade your pancakes, this trick should work a treat.