Mango Pancakes (芒果班戟)

During my holidays in China I always enjoy visiting a popular dessert chain called Honeymoon Dessert/满记甜品, a brand originated in Hong Kong selling both Chinese traditional and Asian fusion desserts. I love its signature dish Mango Pancakes/芒果班戟 so much I tried to replicate it in my own kitchen.

What are mango pancakes

Although known as mango pancakes, this dessert doesn’t appear to be what its name suggests. They are actually whipped cream and fresh mango chunks wrapped in thin crepes (more like french crepes than an American pancake).

Mango pancakes are not typically Chinese and their place of origin remains a mystery. According to my research, they are very popular in Hong Kong bakeries and dessert shops. Whereas in Australia, mango pancakes come in a roll shape (like Spring Rolls) and are commonly served in Chinese restaurants (especially Dim Sum restaurants).

If you love fresh fruit and appreciate a light dessert, mango pancakes are a perfect choice. You’ll adore their three layers of delight: moist, elastic pancakes; light, fluffy cream; and soft, sweet mango. And they’re surprisingly simple to make!

Ingredients

To make Hong Kong style mango pancakes, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Ripe mangoes
• Double cream (or whipping cream), plus vanilla extract and icing sugar for flavor
• Ingredients for the pancakes: all-purpose flour, cornstarch (or custard powder), powdered sugar (aka icing sugar), milk, eggs, melted butter.

🌟 NOTE: For photographing this recipe, I used custard powder (Bird’s Custard), instead of cornstarch, as it yields a more appealing yellow color.

How to make them

Step 1: cook the pancakes

The pancakes should be very thin, smooth, moist, and slightly elastic. I’ve learned a few tips through multiple recipe testings:

• Prepare the batter by mixing all the ingredients for the pancakes. It should have a smooth, runny consistency.
• Pour the batter through a sieve to remove any lumps.
• Keep your skillet/frying pan (ideally non-stick) at the right temperature: low enough to allow the batter to swirl into a nice round shape, yet high enough to cook the pancakes quickly without drying them out. You might find it a bit tricky making the first 1 or 2 pancakes. I’m sure you will soon figure out the best level of heat for your cookware.

Step 2: whip the cream

Add vanilla extract and a small amount of powdered sugar to the cream, then whip it until stiff peaks form. If you don’t have a sweet tooth, like me, you can omit the sugar, as the sweetness from the pancakes and the mango may be enough.

Step 3: slice the mangoes

Choose ripe mangoes then cut their flesh into chunks. For a better presentation, I suggest using one large piece of mango for each pancake. When you cut the pancake through, a nice neat look will appear on each side.

Step 4: shape the dessert

Lay one pancake on a surface. Put a big spoonful of whipped cream in the middle, then place a piece of mango on top. Wrap the cream and mango from four sides, forming a pillow-like shape.

When wrapping, use minimum pressure on the pancakes. Otherwise you might tear them or push the cream to the side then end up with a very flat shape.

Variations

Apart from mango pancakes, durian pancakes/榴莲班戟 are also very popular. Since durian is not commonly available outside Asia, I picked other fruits as fillings.

Strawberry and kiwi are my favorite options. They both have sweet, soft flesh and they look stunning when cut through. Banana, melon and ripe peach also work for this recipe.

How to color the pancakes

I experimented with several ways to color the pancakes to match different fruits.

• Yellow: To match the yellow/orange color of mango, I replace cornstarch with custard powder (Bird’s Custard) which gives the batter a yellower look.
• Pink: For strawberries, I add a little juice from beetroot to achieve a pink color.
• Green: Matcha powder (finely ground powder of green tea, commonly used in Japanese cuisine) is added for a green appearance to match kiwi fruit.

FAQs

Other dessert recipes

Looking for more classic Chinese treats? Have a look at these popular ones:

📋 Recipe card

Hong Kong style mango pancake (芒果班戟)

Fresh mango topped with fluffy cream, then wrapped with a thin, moist crepe, pillow-shaped mango pancake is a dessert to die for.

Author: Wei Guo

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chinese

Prep: 15 minutes minutes

Cook: 15 minutes minutes

Total: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 pancakes

Ingredients

For the pancakes

• ▢ 240 ml milk - 1 cup
• ▢ 50 g all-purpose flour - ⅓ cup, see note 1
• ▢ 30 g cornstarch - or custard powder, ¼ cup, see note 2
• ▢ 25 g powdered sugar - ¼ cup
• ▢ 3 medium eggs - lightly beaten
• ▢ 2 teaspoon butter - melted

For the filling

• ▢ 300 ml double cream - or whipping cream, 1¼ cups
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ½ tablespoon powdered sugar
• ▢ 2 large mangoes - peeled and cut into chunks

Free Top 25 Recipes CookbookDOWNLOAD IT NOW!

Instructions

Prepare the batter

• Pour milk into a mixing bowl. Sift flour, cornstarch (or custard powder) and powdered sugar into the bowl. Mix with a balloon whisk until well combined.
• Add lightly beaten eggs and melted butter. Mix well.
• Through a sieve, pour the mixture into a bowl/measuring cup (ideally with a pouring spout).

Cook the pancakes

• Heat up a non-stick skillet/frying pan over low heat.
• Pour a small amount of batter onto the pan, then swirl quickly to form a very thin disk.
• When small air pockets appear under the pancake, remove the pancake and place it on a plate to cool (no need to cook the other side).
• Repeat the procedure until you finish the batter mixture (see note 3).

Whip the cream

• While waiting for the pancakes to cool, whip the cream, vanilla extract and powdered sugar until stiff peaks form.

Assemble the pancakes

• Lay one pancake on a flat surface (shiny, smooth side facing down).
• Spoon some whipped cream onto the middle of the pancake. Place one piece of mango on top.
• Wrap the filling from four sides of the pancake to form a pillow-like shape. Place it on a serving plate with the folded side facing down.

Store & serve

• You may serve the pancakes straight away. However, I suggest that you refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes before serving. This way the cream will be firmer thus the pancakes will look better when cut through.

NOTES

1. Please note that measuring flour, starch (or custard powder) and icing sugar by cup is less accurate than by weight.

2. I use custard powder (Bird’s Custard) instead of cornstarch for my mango pancakes. This is to produce a yellow color.

4. The batter for this recipe makes 12 pancake wrappers (each measures about 15cm/6 inches in diameter). However, please feel free to adjust the size according to your pan size.

4. Use other fruits as filling: you may choose other soft flesh fruit as the filling. Durian is a classic choice. Strawberry, kiwi fruit, banana, ripe peach and melon are great too.

5. Colour the pancakes: You can make the pancake in different colors to match the fruit. I add a little beetroot juice to the batter to achieve pink and some matcha powder for green (Tip: It’s better to mix matcha powder with a little hot water before adding to the batter).

NUTRITION

Serving: 1 pancake | Calories: 175 kcal | Carbohydrates: 15 g | Protein: 4 g | Fat: 12 g | Saturated Fat: 7 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g | Trans Fat: 0.03 g | Cholesterol: 74 mg | Sodium: 36 mg | Potassium: 133 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 9 g | Vitamin A: 857 IU | Vitamin C: 13 mg | Calcium: 53 mg | Iron: 0.5 mg

Cooked this recipe?Show me your dish or ask me questions @red.house.spice

NUTRITION DISCLOSURE: Nutritional information on this website is provided as a courtesy to readers. It should be considered estimates. Please use your own brand nutritional values or your preferred nutrition calculator to double check against our estimates.