Mini pancake canapés with mascarpone cream and strawberries

These little mini pancake canapés are an absolute crowd pleaser, and I mean that for every single age group! The kids go absolutely crazy for them, and honestly who can blame them. Three fluffy mini pancakes stacked high with clouds of mascarpone cream and fresh strawberries, all held together with a toothpick, they are as fun to make as they are to eat. But don't let the fun fool you, these are also the perfect thing to serve at a celebration. Baby showers, birthdays, Christmas morning, a fancy brunch with friends, these little stacks bring the wow factor without the stress. Make a big batch, lay them out on a platter and watch them disappear. Full recipe below and don't forget, this April I am making pancakes for a cause very close to my heart. Head to pancakesforparkinsons.org.au to find out how you can get involved too.

Ingredients

• 200g plain flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tbsp caster sugar

• 1 pinch of salt

• 250ml whole milk

• 1 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 30g melted butter

For the Cream

• 250g mascarpone

• 300ml double cream

• 2 tbsp powdered sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste

• 400g fresh strawberries

Method

Make your master batter: Stir the lemon juice or white vinegar into the milk and rest for 5 minutes, it will curdle slightly, that's perfect. Whisk the flour, baking powder, caster sugar and salt in a large bowl. In a jug, whisk the milk mix with the egg, vanilla extract and melted butter, then fold into the dry ingredients. A few lumps are fine, don't overwork it.

Cook the mini pancakes: Pour your batter into a squeezy bottle. Heat a non-stick pan on medium-low and lightly butter. Squeeze out small rounds of batter, you're aiming for roughly 5cm wide. Cook for about 45 seconds until bubbles form at the edges, then flip and cook a further 30 seconds. You can keep your pancakes warm in the oven if you are working in batches.

Make the mascarpone cream: Beat the mascarpone, double cream, powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste together until thick and cloud-like. Don't overwhip, you want it to hold its shape but stay luscious and spoonable.

Prepare the strawberries: Slice most of your strawberries into disks. For the topper, halve a strawberry lengthways leaving the green stalk on, this sits proud on top of each stack and gives a beautiful pop of colour.

Build your canapés: Lay a mini pancake down, add a dollop of mascarpone cream, then another pancake, another dollop of cream, then a final pancake. Top with a disk of strawberry, another small dollop of cream and finish with your halved strawberry stalk-side up. Push a toothpick straight down through the centre to hold everything together. Repeat.

Elliot's tips

🥞 Get yourself a squeezy bottle. It makes dropping perfectly even mini pancakes so much easier — you can absolutely use a teaspoon but if you are making a big batch, a squeezy bottle is a total game changer!

🥞 Get ahead. Both the pancakes and the mascarpone cream can be made in advance. Keep the cream covered in the fridge and store the pancakes in an airtight container.

🥞 Assemble just before serving. These are at their absolute best fresh — build your stacks just before your guests arrive and they will look and taste incredible every time.