Mango Pancakes (Dim Sim Style)

I learned about breakfast pancakes and dim sum-style pancakes at about the same time in my life. Saturday mornings would feature stacks of pancakes with maple syrup and Sunday mornings would involve going out for dim sum and ordering ‘pancakes.’ The latter were not like the pancakes often associated with breakfast or brunch. Instead, these pancakes often found at dim sum restaurants are golden pillows of freshly whipped cream and fruit (often mango) wrapped inside a bright and smooth yellow crepe. These pancakes are my parents’ favourite and are often a highlight to any dim sum meal.

This recipe only requires a few ingredients and is quite simple to make. The toughest part is to get the crepe at the right thickness but after the first pancake that usually ends up as a tester, it gets easier and easier. Using good quality eggs and adding custard powder to the crepe batter give these crepes its signature colour, but you can omit the custard powder without changing the pancakes too much if you don’t have it handy. It is important to remember to not flip the crepe when cooking it — leaving onside ‘uncooked’ is what gives these mango pancakes its very smooth exterior.

These dim sum-style pancakes are usually filled with mango, but other in-season fruit would be just as good. My favourite fruit is papaya, so I might make papaya pancakes next with an orange crepe.

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