Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes
with Maple Cream Cheese Glaze | 4 servings
- Milk
- Eggs
- Wheat
Think of these as a mashup of cinnamon rolls and extra fluffy pancakes—the ideal fall breakfast. Cinnamon and brown sugar are added to a portion of the pancake batter, then piped onto the plain batter in the pan. The result? Pancakes that are beautiful and delicious. A cream cheese-maple syrup glaze adds a delectably sweet touch
Ingredients
1 unit
Cornstarch
4 tablespoon
Cream Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
2 tablespoon
Maple Syrup
2 tablespoon
Crème Fraîche
(Contains: Milk)
6.75 ounce
Milk
(Contains: Milk)
2 unit
Eggs
(Contains: Eggs)
246 g
Tempura Batter
(Contains: Eggs, Milk, Wheat)
3 teaspoon
Cinnamon
1 tablespoon
Brown Sugar
Not included in your delivery
Salt
½ cup
Sugar
4 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Cooking Steps
Submerge sealed cream cheese packets in a small bowl of warm water to soften. Meanwhile in a separate small bowl, whisk 1½ tsp cornstarch (be sure to measure; we sent more) into ½ cup water until no lumps remain.
Melt 2 TBSP butter in a small pot over medium-high heat. Stir in cream cheese, maple syrup, and ¼ cup sugar. Cook, whisking constantly, until ingredients are smooth and combined and sugar has dissolved, 1-2 minutes. Stir in cornstarch mixture; cook, whisking, until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, 1-2 minutes. Remove pot from heat; cover to keep warm. Discard water from bowl used for cream cheese and wipe dry.
Place 2 TBSP butter in a large, microwave-safe bowl. Microwave until melted, 45 seconds. Whisk in crème fraîche until smooth, then whisk in milk, eggs*, ¼ cup sugar, and a pinch of salt until well combined. Whisk in tempura batter mix 1 packet at a time until no dry patches remain and batter is mostly smooth with a few small lumps.
Transfer ⅓ cup batter to bowl used for cream cheese; whisk in cinnamon and brown sugar, breaking up any lumps, until well combined. Transfer swirl batter to a zip-close bag, using a rubber spatula to get as much as possible out of the bowl. TIP: To make the transfer easier, place zip-close bag in a glass, then fold edges of bag outward around the rim.
• Snip a small hole off one corner of zip-close bag with swirl batter. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick pan over medium heat. (TIP: For extra-rich pancakes, use butter instead.) Add 1⁄4-cup scoops of pancake batter to pan; pipe swirl batter onto pancakes in a spiral pattern, starting at the center and moving outward. Once bubbles form on tops of pancakes, 1-2 minutes, flip and cook until golden, 30-60 seconds more. TIP: Lower heat if pancakes begin to brown too quickly. • Transfer to a plate. TIP: To keep the pancakes warm, transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven at 200 degrees. • Repeat process with remaining batter, adding more oil between batches if necessary. TIP: For quicker cooking, use 2 nonstick pans or a griddle.
• Reheat cream cheese glaze, if necessary, adding a splash of water if mixture is too thick. • Divide pancakes between plates; drizzle with as much glaze as you like. Serve any remaining glaze on the side.
Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw eggs. Consuming raw or undercooked eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: Opinions were split — some loved the fluffy pancakes and rich glaze, while many found the overall flavor bland and the cinnamon swirl too subtle to taste. Several reviewers found the dish very sweet; cutting the sugar in half is worth considering.
- Ease of prep: Many found this recipe more complicated and time-consuming than expected for a breakfast dish, with multiple steps that were easy to mix up. Piping the cinnamon swirl batter using the zip-close bag method was consistently described as messy and hard to control.
- Suggestions: Add vanilla extract to the plain batter to boost flavor. Lower the heat if pancakes brown too quickly, and watch the pan closely. One reviewer skipped the swirl entirely and mixed the cinnamon throughout the whole batter for easier prep and better flavor distribution.
- Portions: The 4-serving recipe makes a large batch — some reviewers ended up with far more pancakes than they could eat and wished a 2-serving option were available.
Reviews from our home cooks
I really don't think the tempura mix works as well as you think it does. Either that or I'm missing the trick to making pancakes that way.
Very good. Burnt a couple in the pan, would change the temp to low instead of medium.
I thought these would have a stronger cinnamon flavor. They were more bland than I expected.
Glaze was delicious but pancakes tasted okay. Hard to squeeze and make cinnamon swirl.
