Restaurant Quality Mango Pancakes!

Mango pancakes are a popular Chinese restaurant dim sum or yum cha dessert. Light, thin pancakes envelop a fresh mango and cream filling. It's easy to make these and both the pancake batter can be done in the Thermomix too. They can be made a few hours ahead of time and kept in the fridge so that you have an easy to serve Chinese dessert as a refreshing finisher to a meal or as part of a Chinese New Year celebration! This is a pushy recipe Dear Reader.

Some say that Mango Pancakes are an Chinese Australian restaurant invention while others say that they originated in Hong Kong. The former theory sort of makes sense as mangoes are plentiful here in Australia during the summer although these pancakes remain popular all year round. Nobody really knows with great certainty where they came from. Nevertheless mango pancakes are perfect for any Lunar New Year's celebrations coming up on the 29th January 2025. The golden hue is considered lucky for good fortune and the mangoes resemble gold ingots.

Tips For Making Mango Pancakes

1 - You can also use tinned mango if you don't have access to fresh mangoes.

2 - I have a crepe pan that I use for these pancakes (this is the crepe pan I use). The crepes are around 25cm/9.8inches and this recipe yields exactly 6 mango pancakes but if your pan is bigger or smaller you may need to adjust your batter.

3- I always lift the heated frying pan off the flame and pour the batter and tilt it so that the batter can spread all over the pan. When the pan is on the heat, the batter sets too quickly and you can't tilt the pan quickly enough so that you end up with a thin enough, complete pancake.

4 - My filling is a bit different to typical yum cha mango pancakes. I use whipped cream cheese filling for these mango pancakes instead of plain whipped cream. I find cream cheese filling holds it shape butter and the flavour is like a mango cheesecake! But feel free to sub the equal weight of cream cheese with double cream.

5 - I prefer to use double cream than pure or thickened single cream. I like the way that double cream whips up easily and holds its shape especially for an item like this.

6 - Vanilla or mango ice cream is also delicious in these pancakes instead of the cream filling!

7 - With leftover mango skins, try this delicious mango pit syrup! That way you won't waste a bit of these precious mangoes!

• EASY Dim Sum Chee Cheong Fun Prawn Roll
• Mango Pudding - just like at Yum Cha
• Prawn Shrimp Toast
• Malay Cake
• Zongzi Chinese Rice Dumplings

The other night after making these mango pancakes I had eaten my dinner of gimbab and was about to make some dumplings for Mr NQN when he arrived home from his run.

"I'm going to have a shower," he said and headed upstairs to the bathroom.

I made him a salad and then I grabbed the bag of home made gyoza out of the freezer and heated the pan up. Then all of a sudden I started to get stabbing pains in my stomach. They were so strong that I found it hard to stand up properly. I thought I had given myself a case of food poisoning. Was it the reheated rice? I thought I had heated it enough but cooked rice is often a culprit for food poisoning. I bent over sweating and fearing a terrible case of food poisoning. Would this be the way that I was going to die? Oh the irony!

Then my hands started tingling with pins and needles and then I couldn't breathe properly. "Honey!" I called to Mr NQN upstairs but all I heard was the shower running. I turned off the stove, knocked over a drink in the process and I wasn't able to walk properly up the stairs.

I lay down on the bed and my hands were still tingling. I called out to Mr NQN as soon as I heard the water finish and told him my symptoms. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" he asked and I nodded yes. But lying down was helping as I could feel my breath slow down. "Maybe let's wait 10 minutes," I said in a ragged whisper.

And in that 10 minutes, the tingles in my hands disappeared and my breathing slowed and the stomach pain disappeared. We couldn't find a cause for these-the closest thing was a panic attack but I have never had one before and cooking isn't a stress for me, it's much the opposite.

"I can't make the gyoza for you tonight though," I told him. "Just eat the salad I made and you can have as many mango pancakes as you want!" which was very much the best outcome for this as far as he was concerned!

So tell me Dear Reader, do you know what could have happened? Was it a panic attack? And do you like mango pancakes?

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Mango Pancakes

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Makes 6 pancakes using a 25cm/9.8inch crepe pan

For Pancakes

• 1 cup/250ml/8.8flozs milk
• 50g/1.7ozs plain all purpose flour
• 30g/1oz custard powder (can sub with cornflour/fine cornstarch)
• 80g/2.8ozs caster or superfine sugar
• 3 eggs, large
• 30g/1oz butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• A few drops yellow food colouring (optional)
• 40ml/1.4flozs oil for frying

For Filling

• 3 ripe large mangoes
• 150g/5ozs cream cheese, cold, cubed (can sub with double cream if you prefer all whipped cream filling)
• 110g/3.9ozs icing or powdered sugar, sifted
• 350ml/12.3flozs double cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste

Step 1 - For batter, place the milk, flour, custard powder or cornflour, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, salt and yellow food colouring in a blender and blend until smooth. Thermomix: milk, flour, custard powder or cornflour, sugar, eggs, melted butter, vanilla, salt and yellow food colouring in TM bowl and set to 10 secs/speed #6. Strain through a sieve into a jug. Measure out 85g/3ozs of batter into a small jug.

Step 2 -Heat a 25cm/9.8inch crepe pan or shallow non stick frypan on low to medium heat. With a silicon brush, brush lightly with oil all over the pan. Lift the pan off the heat and pour the measured out batter into the centre but tilting the pan so that the batter spreads to all of the sides. This takes a bit of practice but the batter is very liquid.

Step 3 -Cook until the bottom of the pancake is starting to brown (I like just a light toasting) and the top has completely set. You do not need to flip the pancakes, just loosen on the sides and base and slide out of the pan onto a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter layering each pancake with greaseproof paper or parchment. Allow to cool completely. If you're in a hurry place in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Step 4 -Meanwhile cut two cheeks out of each mango and then cut out a long rectangle of mango around 7x4cms/2.7x1.6inches and peel off the skin. Set aside. Then make the cream layer. Freeze the mixer bowl, beater and whisk for 5 minutes before using. Beat the cream cheese and icing or powdered sugar together using a beater attachment then switch to the whisk attachment and add the cream and vanilla and whisk until it starts to come together and you get soft peaks. Then using a spatula go around the edges and incorporate the cream cheese into the cream and whisk again until you get stiff peaks. Your cream is ready when you can slice a butter knife through the cream and the cut holds.

Step 5 -Take one pancake and turn it smoother side down so that it is the grill mark side is facing up. Pipe around 2-3 tablespoons of the cream filling in the bottom third of the circle and then place the rectangle of mango on top. Wrap from left to right crossing over and then from the top to bottom until you get a little log package. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Serve as is or cut in half. These mango pancakes can keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days.