The winner was clear.
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Getting a perfect stack of pancakes that are fluffy, tender, and golden brown is harder than it looks.
Sometimes they're flat, sometimes they burn — pancakes are one of those deceptively simple things where technique really does matter.
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To try and find the absolute best breakfast stack, I decided to test four of the most popular pancake recipes. A ~pancake showdown~ if you will.
This was my lineup:
1. Ina Garten: Because I knew that Ina would take her pancakes to a whole new level and add some fancy ingredient like lemon zest or good vanilla (which, spoiler, she adds both).
2. Gordon Ramsay: Because I figured a world-class chef would have some crazy hack for making perfect pancakes (just like he has a crazy hack for making his famous scrambled eggs).
3. Chrissy Teigen: Because I wanted to try something a bit more out of the box, and her Dutch baby pancake seemed like just the thing to spice things up. (And people really do swear by her cookbook — she even has a second one in the works.)
4. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: Because I stumbled across a recipe for his ~world-famous~ pancakes on Instagram, and it low-key looked delicious.
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SO WHO WON?
THE WINNER: Ina Garten
These pancakes were light, fluffy, and I could literally taste the good vanilla in them. They puffed up beautifully and were buttery, golden, and had a delicious banana flavor. These were some seriously classy pancakes. Get the recipe here.
SECOND PLACE: Dwayne ~The Rock~ Johnson
Today I learned that adding chocolate chips is all you need to make a killer flapjack (not really, but also...really). If you want something truly decadent, go with these. They were filled with melted bits of chocolate and covered in whipped cream — what's not to like? Get the recipe here.
THIRD PLACE: Chrissy Teigen
This Dutch baby was good — but it's hard to compare these against the other recipes. It was crispy on the outside, soft and flanlike in the middle, and deliciously buttery. If you want something a bit untraditional (and not at all like a standard pancake), go with this beauty. Get the recipe here.
LAST PLACE: Gordon Ramsay
These were a lot of work to make, and not at all worth the effort. They came out flat, eggy, dense, and were totally underwhelming. Save yourself some money (and time) and skip this recipe. Get the recipe here.
Alice Yoo/BuzzFeed
• The Ultimate Mashed Potatoes Recipe
• The Ultimate Scrambled Egg Recipe
• The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
• The Ultimate Stuffing Recipe
via BuzzFeed/Food
