Ice cream pancakes are the ultimate treat when you’re craving something fun and over the top. Made with melted ice cream in the batter, they’re soft and incredibly delicious.
TikTok Pancakes with Melted Ice Cream
My daughter showed me a TikTok of pancakes made with ice cream and asked me to recreate them. She loves chocolate, and we have chocolate ice cream, so naturally, this epic ice cream pancake stack was born. The pancakes have a soft, rich texture, similar to my sweet cream pancakes. These are definitely a treat and a lot more indulgent than homemade pancakes.
Ingredients
Although the viral recipe uses self-rising flour, you can use a pancake mix and all-purpose flour as noted in the recipe. Melted ice cream replaces the milk, eggs, and sugar in traditional recipes, and cocoa powder is essential to turn them into chocolate pancakes (chocolate ice cream isn’t enough to make them this dark). A little vanilla for flavor, if you have it.
How to Make Ice Cream Pancakes
- Make the batter.
Melt the ice cream by letting it sit on the counter or by melting it slowly in the microwave. It doesn’t need to be hot, just melted. Then combine with the other ingredients. The batter is thick and airy. - Cook the pancakes.
Over medium heat, these take about 2 minutes per side. Adjust the heat if necessary or rinse the pan between batches to prevent burning. - Serve.
Build your stack and go to town by topping them with chocolate syrup, whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream.
Laura’s Tips for Perfect Ice Cream Pancakes
Yes, a pancake mix works well for this recipe because it already has baking powder. You’ll need 1 ¼ cups.
Yes, you’ll need to add 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder to the flour bowl to help the pancakes rise.
Absolutely. I used chocolate ice cream, but you can use any flavor you have on hand; omit the cocoa powder and reduce the flour to the same amount as the ice cream as noted in the recipe card.
This ice cream batter is thick but not dense. You should see some air bubbles. I like to mix it slowly, until there’s no visible flour left but some lumps remain. It’s not a smooth batter.
More Dessert Pancake Recipes
If you love to celebrate with pancakes, try my Birthday pancakes, my Oreo pancakes, red velvet pancakes, cinnamon roll pancakes, or these carrot cake pancakes.
Chocolate Ice Cream Pancakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups melted chocolate ice cream
- 1 ¼ cups self-rising flour, see notes
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the batter:
- Measure the ice cream into a bowl. You can let it melt at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes, or microwave it in 20-second intervals, stirring occasionally, until it's mostly melted (you don't want hot liquid). I like to use the defrost button, which reduces the microwave power in half.
- Add the self-rising flour and cocoa powder to a large bowl, and mix it well. Pour the melted ice cream and vanilla extract into the bowl. Stir until it's mostly smooth. The batter is a little lumpy.
Cook the pancakes:
- Heat a non-stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Once hot, grease it, and immediately pour ¼ cup of batter per pancake. Cook the first side for about 2 minutes, flip the pancakes over, and cook the second side for a little less time. If your pancakes are browning too fast and you're flipping them over before bubbles have formed throughout, reduce the heat and rinse the pan between batches.
Serve & store:
- Serve these hot, topped with butter and syrup, chocolate syrup and whipped cream, or go to town and add a scoop of ice cream on top.
- Leftover pancakes can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Using pancake mix: Measure 1 ¼ cups of pancake mix. Since it already has baking powder, it can be used.
- Using all-purpose flour: Combine 1 ¼ cups of flour with 2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder in the bowl.
- Using vegan ice cream: I tested this using a vegan ice cream, and while the pancakes turned out, they were a bit denser. This is because traditional ice cream is made with eggs and milk, two ingredients found in traditional pancake batter.
- Making these non-chocolate: omit the cocoa powder, reduce the ice cream amount to 1 ¼ cups (same as the flour).
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Sheryl says
My son also talked to me about this ice cream pancakes and I was like, what?? I found your recipe and made them. So good! Now I’m also a fan lol