We Asked a Recipe Developer What She Thinks of TikTok’s Controversial ‘Scrambled Pancakes’
Is it genius, or a crime?
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TikTok is in a tizzy about a new trend: “scrambled pancakes.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you’ve been making pancakes wrong your whole life,” says TikToker @archivedchef in a video that has netted almost 20 million views (not counting those who watched it on Instagram) since it was posted on June 11. “You’re supposed to scramble them just like how you would scramble eggs.”
The video shows pancake batter being swirled and stirred and chopped into little bits as it cooks in a pan.
“It’s so much easier. You don’t have to worry about getting the perfect circle or whatever,” she added. “Just scoop your batter and start scrambling it around. You want to make sure most of the pieces get golden brown … and then stack them up onto your plate and add whatever toppings you enjoy … It even looks much better than regular pancakes would.”
The video has generated more than 12,400 comments, ranging from “Honestly, this is kind of genius …” to “This is a crime,” and from “This is life changing” to “This triggered me.”
“Who hurt you?” one person asked.
“This seems smart for babies starting solids so you don’t have to cut it up into tiny pieces,” another said.
Several people noted that, in places like Austria and Germany, the dish is called Kaiserschmarrn. “It’s a delicacy! Often served with powdered sugar on top and fresh hot homemade applesauce on the side. Soooo good!” wrote one.
The thing is, at the very end of the viral @archivedchef video, the narrator abruptly switches tone, saying, “Psych! Do not try this and it was not good.”
As startling as the TikToker’s sudden reversal may be for those watching it, Food Network Lead Recipe Developer Amanda Neal is not surprised to learn the results of scrambling pancake batter were underwhelming.
“I don’t understand this trend. What is the actual gain from scrambling pancake batter? Is it just so you have smaller pieces? Or to have a more golden exterior?” she says. “From a culinary standpoint, you shouldn’t cook pancake batter this way. Pancake batter is not meant to be overmixed or overworked.”
Neal notes that having small lumps in your batter before you cook your pancakes is actually ideal. “A gentle stir and small lumps will give you the fluffiest and lightest pancakes. And they’ll still get a beautifully golden crust when cooked properly,” she adds. "If you ‘scramble’ pancake batter, you’ll have overcooked, dry and dense pieces of pancake.”
If you want something more diminutive than regular pancakes, just make smaller pancakes, Neal advises. And if you’re looking for an even more deeply golden exterior, she says, cook your pancakes “in a little extra butter.”
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