Sweet Milk Cakes

Sweet milk cakes are a shortcut griddle cake that starts with prepared pancake mix and gets dressed up with a beaten egg, milk, melted shortening, and a spoonful of sugar. They’re just sweet enough to eat plain, without syrup, though a drizzle of maple syrup or a dusting of powdered sugar never hurts.

The key is beating the batter until smooth. Unlike from-scratch pancakes where lumps are fine, the pancake mix is already blended, so a few extra strokes give you a consistently thin, even batter that pours easily and spreads into uniform rounds on the griddle.

Melted shortening in the batter keeps the cakes tender and prevents sticking without needing to grease the griddle heavily between batches.

Kitchen Tips

• Heat the griddle to medium. Too hot and the outside burns before the center cooks through. A drop of water should sizzle and evaporate in about 3 seconds.
• Pour the batter in a steady stream from the tip of a ladle for rounder cakes.
• Flip when the bubbles on top pop and stay open. If the holes fill back in, it’s not ready yet.
• Serve immediately. Griddle cakes lose their soft texture within minutes of coming off the heat.

Variations

• Cinnamon sweet cakes: Add a teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to the batter.
• Blueberry: Fold in a handful of fresh blueberries just before pouring onto the griddle.
• Vanilla bean: Stir in a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a tablespoon of extra sugar for a dessert-style cake.