The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)

Store-bought mix can make more than pancakes

- ILONA DANIEL chef.ilona.daniel@gmail.com @chef_ilona Chef Ilona Daniel welcomes comments from readers by email at chef.ilona. daniel@gmail.com or on twitter: Twitter. com/chef_ilona.

Sometimes a trip to the grocery store is the last thing you want to do, but you still want to eat well. I have found that having a box of pancake mix tucked away in the pantry is the perfect trick to have up your sleeve. Complete pancake mix is a pre-made powder that you can add water to make pancakes. It usually contains flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Sure, breakfast for supper is a delicious and fun way to use said pancake mix, but did you know there are other moves that pancake mix is just waiting to show you.

Many people I speak to love to wax poetically about food memories involving those all-in-one pizza kits they used to enjoy when they were growing up. Did you know that you can re-live all the nostalgia much more affordably using complete pancake mix to make the crust? Add a little bit of water and oil and you are well on your way to retro pizza paradise. When it comes to topping this style of crust, my only caveat is to be judicious with your toppings; less is more here.

I also like using this pizza crust recipe with kids because there is no huge math involved and it is forgiving. Creating a build/make-your-own pizza for a kids’ birthday party could be a lot of fun and will easily keep their wee hands focused for a while.

Carrot cake, another retro gem, is made easy, even for the beginner cook when using pancake mix. There is no creaming of sugars and fats; rather, this carrot cake is a straightfo­rward process of incorporat­ing dry ingredient­s into the wet ones.

This batter can be made into loaves, a simple slab or, if you are keen, muffins.

Lastly, funnel cakes, the iconic carnival treat can be ready to eat in 20 minutes or less when using pancake mix as the base.

There are three ingredient­s involved in batter production, and it takes no more than five minutes to cook. I like topping them with cherry pie filling, icing sugar and a smattering of sprinkles.

Pancake Mix Pizza Crust Serves 4

2 cups Buttermilk Pancake Mix ½ cup water

¼ cup olive oil

Instructio­ns

• Preheat your oven to 425 F.

• Lightly grease a 12-inch pizza pan with olive oil or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

• Combine pancake mix, water, and olive oil in a large bowl, and mix the ingredient­s together until it’s a soft, sticky dough.

• On a lightly floured surface (use pancake mix instead of flour if you prefer), knead dough for one minute by hand.

• Once kneaded, cover the dough and let rest for five minutes.

Shape the dough into desired pizza form; classic round works well here.

• Place the round onto an oiled, parchmentl­ined baking sheet or pizza pan. Par-bake the pizza dough for about 10 minutes or until the crust just starts to brown.

• Remove the crust from the oven and top it with pizza sauce, cheese and desired toppings (remember, less is more with this style of pizza crust!)

• Place the pizza back in the oven and bake it for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

Pancake Mix Funnel Cake

Yield: 4 (5-inch) funnel cakes Vegetable oil for frying

2 cups Buttermilk Pancake Mix

1 cup water

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract powdered sugar for topping

Instructio­ns

• Add enough oil to a heavy bottomed skillet so there is a 1.5-inch oil depth in the pan. Heat oil to medium-high heat/350 F.

• Add pancake mix to a bowl and whisk in the sugar, followed by the water and vanilla.

Pour the batter into a plastic sandwich baggie with the corner snipped off or a pastry bag.

• Test oil to make sure it is hot enough by dropping a small dot of batter in the pan. It should quickly float and sizzle with little bubbles forming all around the batter, without it burning.

• When the oil is ready, quickly squeeze the batter in a circular motion into the frying pan. Cook about 30 seconds to one minute, until golden brown on the bottom. Flip funnel cake and cook the other side, about 30 seconds or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve warm with any other desired toppings like cherry pie filling and whipped cream.

Pancake Mix Carrot Cake

Makes 2 loaves/11 x 7” baking dish 2 cups Buttermilk Pancake Mix

2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin spice

¾ cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

¾ cup sugar

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1½ cups grated carrots

½ cup canned crushed pineapple, drained ½ cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Instructio­ns

• Pre-heat oven to 350 F, with rack in top third of oven.

• In a medium bowl, whisk together pancake mix and pumpkin spice and set aside.

• Beat oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or by hand), until well mixed. Mix in carrots and pineapple.

• Add dry ingredient­s to wet ingredient­s, along with nuts and stir to combine.

• Pour into baking pan(s), prepped with cooking spray and bake according to pan size (see below).

• Toothpick should come out clean.

• Once cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting, milk glaze or other icing of your preference.

PAN SIZE AND COOKING TIMES

■ Two eight-inch round cake pans or two loaf (makes two 1¼- to 1½-inch cakes): 30 to 35 minutes

■ One 7x11-inch rectangle pan (makes one two-inch cake): 40 to 45 minutes

 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D PHOTOS ?? Chef Ilona Daniel displays the cherry-slathered funnel cake she whipped up using a box of store-bought complete pancake mix.
CONTRIBUTE­D PHOTOS Chef Ilona Daniel displays the cherry-slathered funnel cake she whipped up using a box of store-bought complete pancake mix.
 ?? ?? The simple ingredient­s needed to make funnel cake from pancake mix include water, vanilla and powdered sugar, plus frying oil and toppings of choice.
The simple ingredient­s needed to make funnel cake from pancake mix include water, vanilla and powdered sugar, plus frying oil and toppings of choice.
 ?? ?? A funnel cake can be topped off with a wide variety of toppings, including pie filling, whipped cream and sprinkles.
A funnel cake can be topped off with a wide variety of toppings, including pie filling, whipped cream and sprinkles.
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