What better way to start the day than by mixing up some pancake batter, enjoying the process of cooking them, and then sitting down to savour them with butter and maple syrup? Here are my Top 7 Pancake Recipes at Urban Cottage Life, just in time for Pancake Tuesday 2021, or any upcoming weekend.
There’s Something About Pancakes …
There’s just something about pancakes. I love starting a Saturday or Sunday morning (or any morning, really, but typically the weekend) by mixing up pancake batter while the CBC plays on the radio and the coffee maker is doing its thing. Then I stand at the stove and cook the pancakes, usually one at a time, watching for that magical moment when just enough bubbles have broken through the surface and I can flip them over.
And once they’re all made, there’s the pleasure of watching a pat of butter melt over them and a stream of delicious, local maple syrup cascade over the sides to pool onto a pretty plate.
I save any leftovers for later, but they typically don’t make it through the day. And then there’s the lingering fragrance that perfumes the house longer than those leftovers usually last.
7 Top Pancake Recipes at Urban Cottage Life
These are my seven favourite pancake recipes that I’ve published over the years. All are delicious, and they made this list for that reason and more.
- Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes
- Chocolate Pancakes
- Porter Beer Pancakes with Porter Maple Butter Sauce
- Caramelized Apple Sour Cream Pancakes
- Maple Walnut Pancakes
- Cornmeal & Raspberry Pancakes
- Basic Healthful Pancakes
Let’s Tour the Top 7 Pancake Recipes
Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes

I’m starting off with my Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes because each and every time my granddaughters come for a sleepover (oh, how I miss those in this time of pandemic distancing!), we make these pancakes together the next morning. How could any other recipe beat that? They love how they taste, and I love how nutritious they are. It’s a match made in Nana-Little Miss heaven.
Chocolate Pancakes
Much as I love my Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes, I don’t always have all the ingredients on hand to make them, in which case I just casually make substitutions. It occurred to me that you might also like seeing a simpler version of the recipe, with ingredients more likely to be in your pantry on any given day. So voila, Chocolate Pancakes.
Porter Beer Pancakes with Porter Maple Butter Sauce

Do you like beer? How about beer in pancakes? These Porter Beer Pancakes may be my most decadent pancake recipe, although it’s a close tie with the one that follows. Not only is there a maple porter in the batter, but the pancakes are lavished with a Porter Maple Butter Sauce. You’re welcome.
Caramelized Apple Sour Cream Pancakes

Enriched with sour cream and filled with luscious caramelized apple pieces, these Caramelized Apple Sour Cream Pancakes are … words fail. Just make them and see for yourself.
Maple Walnut Pancakes

Maple walnut is a classic combination, and I’m glad I explored it in pancake form. These Maple Walnut Pancakes have a satisfying nutty crunch, and there’s local maple syrup from Loft Maple Syrup in the batter and most definitely on top.
Cornmeal & Raspberry Pancakes
This fun pancake recipe is lightly adapted from the Anne Lindsay original. It has the crunch of cornmeal and the sweet and tangy zing of raspberries. It’s a big recipe, but lends itself well to being halved. Check out Cornmeal & Raspberry Pancakes.
The One that Started It All: Basic Healthful Pancakes

Years ago I often made pancakes for my young children. I tweaked and tinkered with the recipe until I’d created my own version. It has the mild sweetness that makes pancakes the perfect base for toppings, which back then always included strawberries from my mom’s garden, yogourt and — what else? — maple syrup. But it also has enough nutritional tricks that I felt good serving them to the kids, who never knew the difference. These days, my Basic Healthful Pancakes are often the starting point for new pancake recipes I develop.
First Published 2020 05 08
Republished 2021 02 15
Moyhers day pancake the best thanks Marlene…