Funfetti Pancakes, aka Hurricane Comfort Food

How are all the rest of you on the East Coast holding up after Hurricane Irene? I know there was a variety of different effects depending on what region people found themselves in. I was lucky enough to be in a mostly unaffected area--we got a ton of rain and wind, but because my house is on a hill, we didn't get any flooding. There were a lot of leaves and twigs to be raked up on Sunday afternoon, but no damage to the house or cars or anything, thank goodness. I know we're among the lucky ones!

Perhaps you found yourself cooped up inside as a result of our dear friend Irene--whether in anticipation of her coming, during the storm itself, or in the aftermath of the cleanup. Whenever I find myself housebound and stir-crazy, I crave the mother of all comfort foods: pancakes.




These Funfetti pancakes are the brainchild of Jessie Oleson, also known as the Cakespy. Jessie's outrageous confectionary creations make me ooh, aah, and, occasionally, giggle with every post she makes. I can't wait until I find an excuse to visit Seattle so I can pay a visit to her shop in person!

When she posted the recipe for these Funfetti pancakes a few months ago, I bookmarked them right off the bat, knowing the perfect day would come for these breakfast treats to make their debut. Charlie and I made these for breakfast during the weekend I was helping him recuperate, and we both gave the final results two thumbs way up. The rainbow chips in the Funfetti mix make for sweet pockets of mild crunch, and the cake batter-y flavor lends an undertone to these pancakes that never lets you forget you're really having dessert for breakfast. They're definitely a decadent and super-sweet treat!

Funfetti Pancakes
from Cakespy, via Serious Eats

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (about 1/2 box) of Funfetti cake mix
1 cup milk (we used skim, in an effort to feel less guilty, haha)
1 egg
1/2 cup flour
butter, for greasing griddle or frying pan

1. Combine cake mix with milk, egg, and flour in medium-sized mixing bowl.
2. Blend on medium speed until all ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. The mix will be VERY thick--it's okay! It will take a bit longer to cook than you're probably used to, but the pancakes come out fine.

Really, I promise. Just relax.

3. Let griddle or pan heat up (a medium-high setting is good) and grease with butter.
4. Drop about 1/4 cup of batter on griddle/pan for each pancake. Let the first side cook until the edges start to firm up and look drier than the center of the cooking pancake. (Because of the white cake mix, the edges of my pancakes, at least, didn't start to look "golden" the way regular pancake mix does.)
5. Flip the pancake and cook the second side (this will cook for a shorter time than the first). Because the batter is so thick, flipping the pancake may be a little tricky. I mastered the spatula-in-each-hand-flip-from-both-sides method--feel free to tell me if you discover a better one! :)
6. Serve immediately! Recommended garnishes include maple syrup, whipped cream, strawberry jam, or even cake frosting (Charlie and I were so mad we didn't have any frosting on hand--we've vowed to make a Funfetti pancake sandwich next time. Do I even have to explain to you what that is? I didn't think so).

Happy breakfasting! And to those of you who are still cleaning up in the aftermath of Irene, good luck and be safe. I'm thinking about you!

Links in this post:
www.cakespy.com
www.seriouseats.com