Recently, and I realise that I’m a bit late posting this as the event occured a couple of weeks back, we had a big change in Australia. We had our first first female Prime Minister (and about time really, NZ had one ages ago). As this isn’t a political blog I won’t get into things here but I do recall hearing someone say “It’s the kind of event where you want to remember where you were and what you were doing”. I can proudly say:
“I was making turtle pancakes“.
I did actually want to watch the live feeds and speeches but once I had started these turtle pancakes there was no stopping me. I usually have little stomach for politics (I find them all a bit dodgy to be honest and it seems there’s very little loyalty among them). But once you start these pancakes, making them is such fun and seeing how they turn out is fun too so you quickly leave the dirty business of politics behind.
I originally saw these on Jen’s lovely blog Truffled Pink a blog (please forgive me blog owner I forgot to write down where!) and she pointed me to the Jim’s pancakes site where dad Jim makes all sorts of amazing things with pancakes. All it seems you need is imagination and one of those sauce squeezy tubes and voila you are making your own turtles. Or ferris wheel, bi plane, Hello Kittyface or bling bling necklace out of pancake. The guy obviously has a lot of imagination and the luckiest daughter ever.
These turtle pancakes are very easy. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone and I wanted to use a tin of sweetened condensed milk I had in the fridge and I also wanted to make pancakes that wouldn’t require syrup as they were going in Mr NQN’s lunchbox. He told me that when he first saw what was in his lunch box he thought “excellent!” but then realised that people may laugh at his rather strange and child friendly lunch. Luckily his workmates were non-judgemental and I live for another day where I can pop animal shaped food into my husband’s lunchbox.
So tell me Dear Reader, what were you doing when our first female PM was announced?
Turtle Pancakes
Adapted from Jim’s Pancakes
Makes approximately 6-7 turtle pancakes about 10 cms/4 inches in diameter
- 1 cup plain flour
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (or you could use regular milk and add 4 tablespoons of superfine or caster sugar)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 eggs
- 55grams butter, melted
- a few drops of Pandan essence or green food colouring
- oil for frying
- currants or chocolate chips for eyes
Buyer’s tip: empty sauce dispensers can be found at cookware stores (or even variety stores)
1. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder. In a jug, mix the sweetened condensed milk with the water. Beat in eggs, pandan essence or green food colouring and melted butter. Gradually add into flour mixture whisking to avoid any lumps. Pass through a sieve to remove lumps.
Your weapon: a squeezy tube bottle
Make the outline first and let that cook for a little longer
2. Pour into a squeezy sauce tube (what is the technical name for this?). Heat a large saucepan (you want it large to fit the turtle (or of course you could small small turtles!). Heat a little oil and not too hot (I used setting 4 out of 10). Start with a circle and then draw the pattern above. You want the outline to cook more than the rest. Cook for 30 seconds and then fill in the circles (I found it easier to remove the lid so that it poured out easier).
You can also add the head, arms and tail together and do one whole turtle.
3. Pipe out a head and arms and a tail. Also make some circles to create the “hump”.
4. Assemble the turtle by placing 4 or so little pancakes in the centre of the plate. Place shell over it and place arms underneath it. Add currants or choc chips for eyes and voila!
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82 Comments | Add your own
Haha these look so gorgeours Lorraine!
Haha these look so gorgeous Lorraine!
oh my goodness these are too cute for words! so adorable. love being preoccupied with something totally different and unexpected. I make a french toast with SCM, so I can imagine what these taste like!
Oh my goodness. Soooooooo sweet!!!!!!!
*kisses* HH
Ahh genius I love them. ♥ Animal Shaped Food ♥ . I can see the adoring faces in my household lighting up with these ones. Must check out Jim’s site for more pancakey idea’s.
Very cute!
These are beyond cute, Lorraine! What a fab idea. I happen to have a squeeze bottle so I’m in luck
.
Making turtle pancakes is definitely notable!
These are too cute, my niece would go crazy for them!
Sooo cute!!!
oh wow -when I saw the first photo my initial thought was ‘how’??? Then I saw that you used the squeezy bottle – what a brilliant idea!!!
Adorable!!! When Julia’s appointment was first announced, I was following the news avidly online – because I wanted to know!
I LOVE THESE! they are so cute hehe, i would feel too cruel eating them ehhe.
I was glued to the TV watching updates, but making pancakes would have been a fun alternative.
They are so cute. Definitely a lucky little girl to get such creative pancakes.
Cowabunga! Definitely making these for breakfast this week, having just rescued a huge turtle attempting to cross a busy road – the kids will love ‘em! Would never have thought to colour the batter green! xxx
I seriously could not eat these. WAY too cute.
These are very cute. I’m going to pass this on to my Mum as an activity to do with her preschool class.
That whole post is so lovely, especially when you put them into Mr NQN’s lunchbox. We’re definitely making those!
love it!! I am going to try making puppy pancakes. (and my dogs always get the first one…)
These are cute as!!! I at first thought you had some special pan or template ’cause they look so good! Thanks for this post especially in school holidays, will give this a go with my teenage girls, I bet they will love it
I love Jim’s Pancake site! That guy can do just about anything.
Love your turtle pancakes =)
I was watching the news on the age website, on twitter and facebook at work when Ms Gillard was announced =D
nawwww so cute! <3
So, so cute! And I’m a turtle owner and lover, so I’ll have to give these a go!
I read the same blog about these pancakes and visited Jim’s too. They really are a lovely thing to do for a child (or husband in your case). You must be quite good at drawing in general as these look very professional for a first go!
I was at work. Booooring!
I LOVE the turtles, they look amazing!!
How cute. My nephew would love those turtle pancakes.
haha oh they’re too cute to eat!
Thanks for such an entertaining blog, my 9yr old and I enjoy’d seeing Jims creations.
So very cute! What a great treat for kiddie’s birthdays & special mornings. You’re right, Jim’s daughter was a lucky kid!
ooohhhh these are amazing. Now htis will make me make pancakes!!! so so so so adorable ..what an imagination indeed
)
*bursts out laughing* I DO hoped I’d never have to answer this!! My housemate had put “I married a stranger” on the telly – some godawful americna tv show about some woman’s sister and mother choosing a man for her to marry in the space of three days. I cannot TELL you how relieved I was when the news took over!
Making turtle pancakes is a far more respectable answer.
Fun, fun, fun!! We’re making these this weekend for sure!
I’m so going to make some of those now! I love pancakes!
Haha, when I found out that Aus had a femals PM I was like, “ah, cool. About time, we’ve only had female Prime Ministers for like 13 years already!!!” – And I’m interested in politics. What a lame response
lorraine these are sooooo cute hehehehe
This is ingenious! Great work Lorraine!
I got to try this…..hehehehe love it!
I cant eat those. Theyre too cute.
We have not had a female President in the States yet. Maybe that is what we need. I find that what you say about politics to be how I feel in our country. As far as your turtle pancakes go, I love them. You did an awesome job. One of my favorite foods. We use Bisquick, eggs and milk though. I will set this recipe aside though as it interests me and I may make them sometime. Coincidence that you made turtle pancakes as they just had a news story and are saving as many turtle eggs as they can after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and relocating them so they survive. So the turtles will live on and a great representation from around the world is the representation of turtles. Love this post.
I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t find out until the nine o’clock news the next day. When I last checked the night before they were still denying a leadership challenge! Anyway, the pancakes look great and I love pandan essence too.
hahahaaaa!!! I love this. If i chuck that in my partners lunchbox, he will be strangely amused.
I think you saw it on my blog Lorraine!
I think they’re so cute but I’m too lazy to try it myself!
How gorgeous! my husband already gets teased at work for what I send him along with – I don’t know how he would cope with turtles! When Ms Gillard was announced I was a bit sad that a greedy party could just switch the leader we elected so they had more of a shot at the election, doesn’t say much for our democracy does it. But I can happily say that when it happened I was teaching a year 6 class about prime ministers!! now could there have been a more fortuitous circumstance than that!!!
I was sleeping (recovering from late night worldcup
) while we had the first PM. Can you believe that I got the news through tweeter?
Love this recipe, Lorraine!
Wow! Honestly, this is very intense for a morning breakfast, so there will probably be no turtle pancakes on the table. But it’s awesome that you did it. And that Jim is a fantastic pop!
this is too cute, my kids will love to have this, bookmark this!Thanks for sharing.
These are so cute, I think I need pancakes now.
That’s so clever I was racking my brain at the top how you had done this, I thought you might a turtle shaped griddle or something crazy!
I think I was only about five years old when we got our first female Prime Minister in the UK so was probably at school!
wow! how creative, I would love to make this for my kids (when i have them that is). I’m sorry but I did’nt even know that you got your first female PM till I read it on your blog. Need to watch more news!
WOW! these are so cute
Thanks for sharing step by step clicks!
So cute! I love them!
Cheers,
Rosa
Way too much effort for little old me! But as usual, you astound me with your creativity! You need a little girl to shower with all that fun! (My little girl is 20!)
My favourite bit was “Of course you could small small turtles”. Make small turtles, perhaps? But small small turtles sounds so adorable!
How cute are these?! you have one very lucky hubby and should you choose, very lucky kids!
I tried the lazy-mom’s way of making shaped pancakes…yes, with a cookie cutter. can you spell disaster?!
Yes, I forgot a) to spray the inside of the frog shaped cookie cutter with oil; b) I forgot that the cookie cutter would be HOT.
Never mind. One day I will try to make these very awesome looking turtles. Or, just return to your blog and admire from afar
Heeheee these are so fun! Very creative
Ahh, so cute!
They are so cute!! Thanks for the recipe and tip. Your hubby is a lucky man!
That’s fantastic Lorraine! So clever too – you could make anything! (almost…)
Oh how cute!! =D Can’t remember what I was doing… I was at work and wasn’t all too fussed about the news.
thanks for the link to jim’s pancakes – I love them all – and am in awe – your little turtles are so cute – I now want to be a pancake guru too – maybe one day!
I was driving to work when I heard that Julie was in like flynn! Glorious moment but am wary about how much glory will follow!
Hahaha these are so darn cute! I was wondering how you did the shell shape but yes, all explained in the instructions. Too cute!
That is so spectacularly brilliant! What a gorgeous way to start the day or even as a cute dessert!
they are sooo cute!
i’m so gonna make these! =)
Ah, too cute! I freehand shapes like dinosaurs when I make pancakes, but definitely going to use the squeezy bottle trick now, much more control!
How cute!! I’ll have to make these for my daughter.
For the PM announcement I was trying to keep my bub entertained quietly so I could watch the press conferences – first time i’ve ever been so interested in politics!
Too adorable? Surely Mr NQN’s workmates are deeply jealous that he gets to be married to a world famous food blogger, and have come to expect anything.
Lorraine these look so cute! Now you know i will be making these for breakfast this week. Thank you for sharing.
I almost fainted, they are so cute! I wouldn’t mind to adopt one!
What you did was so much more fun! so cute!
These are DARLING, Lorraine!
Ohhh, so cute. 
I was at my computer when I read the news, and immediately emailed my man in Queensland to fill me in on the details. 
I MUST make these for Ben! We always go to this pond and feed turtles and ducks and he’s the turtle king–droves flock to him!
Such a simple thing, a pancake.. and you make it so special.. well done, Lorraine. I can’t think of a sweeter surprise in a lunchbox!
aw, cuteness! and the method is so doable–i’m surprised it’s not more difficult and intimidating. excellent how-to, lorraine.
Soo cute! And so great for kids…little ones and big ones!!
Soo cute, love it.
I first saw Jim’s giraffe, which was sooo cute. These are cuter though!
Wow, they’re just as gorgeous as the name suggests! And a great way to remember our new PM too.
I got very excited when I first saw these as well! Great execution. I wish someone made these for my lunchbox. I wish I had a lunchbox.
I think that when our new PM was announced I was sound asleep in London. Sound asleep in preparation for hitting up Wimbledon though, so it’s not totally dull!
These are the cutest pancakes ever! You’ve done it again!
A squeezy sauce tube! That’s exactly what I need!
How cute and incredibly easy!! When I first saw the pics, I thought it was some type of mould.
Funnily enough, on that day, I was making cupcakes that I decorated into Ladybugs
Hahahah I would not be able to eat these!!!
I don’t know how I missed these. Cute, but a lot of work, Lorraine. The kind of pancake you can make when you don’t have kids, hehe.
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