The Genius Hack To Easily Douse A Stack Of Pancakes With Syrup

Nothing says satisfaction in the morning, at noon, or midnight, more than fluffy, golden hot pancakes. But whether it's a simple short stack or a tower of flour-y power, one thing can be frustrating for the flapjack aficionado. When you drizzle that perfectly sweet and sticky classic maple syrup over the top, you wind up with an access issue: Your top cake is perfectly smothered, while the ones beneath are still dry in the center and you have a puddle on the plate.

There is a trick that will address this problem in a cinch, and if you choose to serve a stack to your friends, you are guaranteed to blow their minds. This easy fix requires no special equipment or ingredients, just some good old-fashioned culinary engineering. Once your pancakes are piled high, simply cut a hole through the center of your stack, and then drizzle syrup over the top as usual. This way, not only does the sticky stuff run over the top and sides of your pancakes, but down through the middle, too, ensuring better distribution and more maple-saturated bites, guaranteed.

There are a number of ways to make this hack happen for your breakfast crowd. You can cut each pancake individually and then stack them as high as you like, aligning the holes in the center as you go. Alternately, you can pile them up first, and then use a long thin slicing knife to dive in from the top at the center, carefully coring your 'cakes. If the blade feels intimidating, you can opt to repurpose another kitchen tool, too. A cannoli tube is an ideal shape and size (and gives you little round mini pancakes, too), but even a thick drinking straw can get the job done. You can get super creative and turn your pancake stack into a breakfast-style surprise cake with this method, and fill it with maple walnuts, fresh fruit, or your other favorite toppings.

If the center hole doesn't feel like your style, some suggest you quarter the full stack before drizzling your syrup for similar saturation reasons. This requires a bit more effort up front, and a pizza cutter comes in handy in that case. Either way, the objective is to have bite-after-bite fully doused with flavor.

If you're not into maple flavor, there's no reason you have to endure dry pancakes, either. An obvious swap for maple syrup might be a similarly sticky sweet staple, and honey is a perfect pairing for the buttery, batter-based breakfast favorite. You can even kick it up with hot honey if you like a spicy wake-up call. Flavored molasses, like pomegranate, makes a great drizzle too, and you can even scatter a handful of seeds on top for texture. Fruits are often cooked right into the pancake batter, but filling that opening in the center of your stack with a compote or jam is a great way to brighten up your griddled beauties, too. You can even combine these perfect flavors with something like a honey berry topping, and get the best of both worlds.

Rarely is a pancake situation complete without a pat of golden butter, and while there's almost nothing better than your standard issue slab, compound butters, which you can nestle into this new opening, allow you to get creative with your pancake toppings, too. Try flavoring yours with cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices, or even chocolate. And on that note, you never can go wrong with a squeeze of chocolate syrup or salted caramel over the top of your pancakes, too, with the confidence that sweetness will now reach all the way through your stack.