Pandan and Mango Pancakes

These Pandan and Mango Pancakes are inspired by the famous Hong Kong pancakes. Pandan crepes filled with pandan whipped cream and sweet mango.

I think I’ve fallen in love with mango pancakes. And I’m honestly not surprised, it just makes perfect sense.

Any type of pancake or crepe combined with whipped cream and mango is bound to be winner. I personally love how these pancakes are folded up into a wrap. It makes them easy to eat and also perfect on the go.

These make for a great breakfast treat or dessert, and they’re incredibly refreshing on a hot day. I hope you guys enjoy these!

Pandan and Mango Pancakes

There are three key components to these pancakes:

• Pancakes – these are essentially just crepes that have been flavoured with pandan
• Whipped cream – just your good old trusty whipped cream, but also infused with a tiny bit of pandan!
• Mango – I’ve used sweet alphonso mangoes here, the sweeter the mango the better. But you can use whichever you have on hand

The pandan pancakes are filled with a large slice of mango and topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. Roll them up and you’re good to go. It’s as easy as that!

What is pandan?

Pandan is a tropical plant with incredibly fragrant leaves. It’s these leaves that can be used in cooking and baking. Though it can also be purchased as an extract or essence too.

Pandan is used all over South East Asia and it’s just as popular as vanilla is in the west. And rightly so, the flavour it provides is like nothing I have ever tried before.

It has a fragrantly floral and sweet aroma with an almost grassy taste. It’s uniquely delicious and so moreish! It’s used as a flavouring for cakes, kaya, kuih (bite-sized snacks), and so much more. I would liken the aroma of pandan to the aroma of jasmine rice.

Where to buy pandan leaves

I purchase pandan leaves from my local South East Asian supermarket (Loon Fung). It’s readily available in a lot of these supermarkets so I’d definitely recommend looking there.

You can also purchase pandan extract or essence, though I’m not a huge fan. The ones I’ve tried have a strange aftertaste and are usually full of artificial flavourings. I don’t find them to be as true to the flavour of pandan in comparison to the leaves themselves.

Hong Kong style pancakes

These are vibrant yellow crêpes that are filled with a a fluffy whipped cream and large chunks of mango. They’re then rolled up – almost like a burrito!

Contrary to the term ‘pancakes’, these are not your typical American Style Pancakes, but rather more French Crêpes.

From my research, these mango pancakes are incredibly popular in Hong Kong bakeries and dessert shops. And once you try this you’ll totally understand why!

They’re light, fresh, and super vibrant. Anything with whipped cream and fresh fruit is always going to be a winner in my books. If you enjoy the same, then this recipe is definitely meant for you.

Other pancake varieties to try

• Traditional Hong Kong Mango Pancakes – a pain crepe filled with whipped cream and a large chunk of mango
• Mango Lassi Pancakes (inspired by Hong Kong Pancakes) – these are made with a saffron crepe and a cardamom and rose whipped cream. Inspired by the famous drink mango lassi
• Sri Lankan Pani Pol – these are crepes filled with a coconut and jaggery filling
• Palacinka – a thin crepe often filled with jam that’s enjoyed across South and West Slavic countries as well as some parts of Europe

Yes these Pandan and Mango Pancakes are EGGLESS and can be made VEGAN

Unlike the traditional version or traditional crêpes in general, these are eggless. Eggs normally play a huge role when making crêpes but it is totally possible to still make it work without.

I’ve actually used whole milk in my recipe here, but I’ve also made these several times with soy milk too. Soy milk works just as well as dairy milk.

But in my testing, this recipe DID NOT work with oat milk. I tested this twice and the crêpes did not hold together and were impossible to flip. So stick to soy milk in my opinion, I think the higher protein content aids to provide the necessary structure.

You can also use any plant based butter or oil too. For the whipped cream, you could use a plant based alternative (there are plenty on the market now).

A quick tip about vegan whipped cream

A coconut whipping cream often works best, I make this by leaving a tin of coconut milk in the fridge and using the thick cream part that separates on top.

This will whip perfectly! I use this method in my Biscoff and Coffee Ice Cream and it’s honestly one of the best ice creams I have ever made.

What you’ll need to make these Pandan and Mango Pancakes

I’ll cover the main ones below but the full recipe can be found at the end of the blogpost

• Pandan of course! – I’ve explained this in a section above in more depth. But it’s a fragrant leaf native to parts of Asia that adds a floral, earthy flavour. Some say it’s comparable to vanilla, which I don’t personally find, but it has that similar sweet aroma. I purchase the leaves from my local East Asian supermarket and then wash and freeze the leftover leaves
• Mango – I have to be honest, I am a little specific with the mangoes I use. I always go for kesar or alphonso mangoes which are the sweetest, juiciest varieties (in my opinion). But honestly any mango will work, the sweeter the better though
• Double cream – this is sold as double cream in the UK and heavy whipping cream in the US. It’s a cream that can be whipped into fluffy whipped cream

The KEY TIPS to getting these pancakes right

1. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes – this helps a small amount of gluten to development which will bind the pancake so it doesn’t tear
2. Swirl and pour the batter at the same time – this will help to ensure you get a crepe that is the perfect thickness
3. Only cook one side of the pancake – you don’t need to worry about flipping here, we only want one side cooked as the uncooked side will be the ‘outside’ of the pancake roll to provide a clean finish

How to make these Pandan and Mango Pancakes

1) Start by chopping up the pandan leaves, this makes them easier to blend as they are quite fibrous

2) Add the chopped leaves and milk to a blender jug

3) Blend until the pandan milk is a lovely shade of green and looks quite smooth. It won’t take long at all

4) Then pass the pandan milk through a sieve or strainer as we want to remove the pandan fibres

5) Add the flour, sugar, salt, pandan milk, and melted butter to a mixing bowl

6) Whisk till the batter is smooth and largely lump free, a few small lumps are totally fine though. However if you’ve got a lot of lumps it may be worth passing the batter through a sieve.

The leave aside to rest for 30 minutes, you may need to add some more pandan milk or water to thin it back out again after resting (this is why we’re making extra)

7) Preheat a frying pan over a medium low heat and brush lightly with oil

8) Pour a ladle of the pandan pancake batter in and swirl the pan at the same time to cover the entire surface

9) As soon as the base has cooked and the top surface has turned matte, flip directly onto a plate. We only need to cook one side of the pancake as we’re using the non-cooked side as the outside of our rolls

How to make pandan whipped cream

1) Start by pouring the double cream or heavy whipping cream (cold) and icing sugar in to a mixing bowl

2) Whisk until it forms stiff peaks, it will be thick and smooth. Don’t whisk any further as over whisking will cause the cream to split

3) Then add a tbsp of the pandan milk to the whipped cream and fold with a spatula to incorporate. Don’t whisk it as it may cause the cream to split.

I personally add 2tbsp as I prefer a stronger flavour, however start with one and see if you’d like more. But don’t add too much as it will make the cream too soft and runny.

4) You can refrigerate the pandan whipped cream until you need it. This will also help it to firm up which helps with folding the pancakes later

Let’s assemble the Pandan and Mango Pancakes

1) To assemble, first grab a pandan pancake and place it on a plate or chopping board with the cooked side facing up. We want the smooth uncooked surface to be on the outside of the roll

2) Place a generous slice of mango in the centre of the pancake

3) Next add a generous dollop of the pandan whipped cream on top of the mango. You can add as much as little as you like, but honestly when it comes to whipped cream, more really is better.

4) Fold the pancakes by bringing the sides in, and then rolling down from one end to the other

5+6) Keep rolling over to secure the filling

7) I recommend refrigerating the pancakes for at least 15 minutes before eating for best results

Frequently asked questions

If we can’t find pandan leaves, is there anything else we can use?

You could substitute the leaves for pandan extract which is readily available online. It doesn’t have the exact same flavour as the fresh leaves but it’s not a bad option at all. Extracts and essences exist too, I’ve tried the Preema brand pandan essence once and it was awful, so please don’t use that.

The most popular brand of pandan extract is:

This post contains an Amazon Affiliate link. This is the product that I use in this recipe. It is not a gifted or sponsored product. By using this affiliate link, I receive a small commission which is at no expense to yourself. This helps to support this blog for its day to day running. Many thanks.

Can these be made vegan?

They can indeed, and with just a few simple substitutes. See the above section in the blogpost for a full explanation.

Can these pancakes be made gluten free?

I can’t confirm as I’ve not tried myself and unfortunately don’t have any experience with gluten free cooking/baking. But if there’s a gluten free flour blend that you trust, it might be worth attempting with that as they will often have binding agents added in.

How long can these pancakes be kept and what’s the best way to store them?

As there’s fresh cream inside, I would recommend storing it for a maximum of 3 days. Keep the pancakes in an air tight container and refrigerated.

If you enjoyed this recipe

Please do let me know! Leave a review and a rating below, I’d love to know how you got on.

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Until then, happy cooking!