If you've ever wanted a reason to play with your food, here is the perfect excuse. Treat your family to a breakfast feast they will never forget, and don't be afraid to get creative with more than just ingredients. You can learn how to make fun and personalized art with pancakes that your family will enjoy before and during their meal. Read on for tips and tricks, along with some fantastic pancake creations we found on the web, for some inspiration on the fun shapes and characters you can make.
There's an Artist in All of Us
If you’re feeling confident, go the freestyle route and design your own custom pancakes! Think about some of your favorite activities, animals and interests, and choose a simple shape you can pour straight onto the pan. Remember that the batter will spread when you pour it, so round shapes are easiest.
Not all of us are Van Goghs on the griddle, but don’t let that stop you. You can use cookie cutters to guide your design by placing them on the griddle and pouring the batter into the cutter – make sure to grease the edges first.
Need some finishing touches? Banana slices and other fruit add flavor and color to your pancake masterpieces.
Looking for a banana pancake recipe? Try Healthy Chiquita Banana Pancakes
We asked Rick if he had any tips for all of you, and he was kind enough to share his advice, gathered over 16 years of pancake artistry. Here's the down low from the master himself:
Tips from a Master Pancake Artist
All of those were done free-hand, just dribbling the batter out of a 1/4 cup measuring cup.
You need to do fast and bold strokes and not worry too much about perfection. The suggestiveness of the overall picture compensates for error in the details.
Take requests and don't turn down any challenge. I've done a knight-on-his-horse-with-a-castle (before I was photographing them), a farmer wearing overalls, numerous Harry Potters, the skyline of Minneapolis and all sorts of other ridiculous things that were suggested by my daughters and their friends during our 16 years (so far) of traditional Saturday morning pancake breakfasts.