Mini Hamburger Pancakes

Saturday morning pancakes are a sacred family tradition in the Kay house. Mr Kay is chief flipper and I'm in charge of nutella spreading. We're stuffed after two - three max - but the boys vacuum them up. Joshua will easily eat six. "That's because I'm six mummy" he says. He's sensible like that.

Mini Hamburger Pancakes. Food masquerading as other food.

Here's something different for pancake day - but still involving nutella - mini hamburger pancakes. I love food masquerading as other food, it makes me feel a bit Heston esque. Unlike a Heston recipe, mini hamburger pancakes are super quick and easy to make - one tiny nutella pancake sandwiched between two vanilla ones. If you want to be really authentic, thinly sliced strawberries and mint leaves make excellent faux tomatoes and lettuce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds for a realistic burger bun.

Sesame seeds for an authentic burger bun. Mint leaves for lettuce. Strawberries for tomato slices.

I was so proud of myself when I first made these, like really proud. I showed everyone I met a photo on my phone for the next two days. The boys didn't share my excitement for them. They opened them up, ate the 'burger' and dumped the 'bun.' I was astonished. Perhaps it's just their idea of a carb-free diet? Surely they are the coolest things ever? "No thank you mummy, I just want pancakes with chocolate spread" said Joshua. Keeps me humble I guess.  

Cocktail sticks keep the little hamburger pancakes together.

Mini Hamburger Pancakes:

• Makes: 12
• Time:  15 minutes (plus time to assemble)
• Cost:  54p per batch of 12 (without decorations)
• Calories:  44 per hamburger (based on 3 mini pancakes)

Ingredients: 

For the pancakes:

• 1 medium egg
• 115ml milk
• 135g self-raising flour
• 40g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp nutella (plus extra for sticking)
• Sunflower oil or butter for frying

To decorate (optional):

• Mint leaves
• Strawberries
• Honey or maple syrup
• Sesame seeds

Method:

1. Make the pancake batter by whisking the egg, flour, milk, sugar and vanilla together in a mixing bowl until smooth.
2. Get a frying pan ready to fry the pancakes. Lightly grease the surface with butter or oil and wipe away any excess with kitchen paper. Place pan over a medium heat.
3. Now it's time to make the 'burger bun' pancakes. One teaspoon of mixture will make one pancake. Gently drop 4-5 teaspoons of the pancake mixture onto the frying pan leaving a good space between each. They should spread by themselves into little pancakes around 4-5cm in diameter. Fry for roughly 60 seconds on one side until golden before flipping. Fry on the other side for no more than 30 seconds. These tiny pancakes cook at lightning speed so watch they don't burn. Transfer to a plate. Repeat until you have 24 mini vanilla pancakes.
4. Add the nutella to the remaining pancake batter and stir until well combined. Use the nutellary batter to make the 'burger' pancakes in exactly the same way as you made the 'burger bun' pancakes. You will need 12 'burger' pancakes, but if you find you have extra batter left over just make more 'burgers' incase you want to make the mini pancake equivalent of a double cheeseburger!
5. Now to assemble your mini pancake hamburgers. Sandwich 1 (or 2) burger pancakes between 2 burger bun pancakes. You can use a small amount of nutella between each pancake to help them stick together if you need to. If you want them to look really authentic, place mint leaves and thinly sliced strawberries (slice them horizontally at the widest part) on the 'burger' to look like lettuce and tomato. When you are ready to serve, drizzle each burger with a small amount of syrup and sprinkle over some sesame seeds for even greater authenticity if you like.