More of a dessert than breakfast, these tres leches mini pancakes are quickly becoming popular on the streets of Southern California, these quick and delicious pancakes are great for parties, brunches, as a fun afternoon treat or a fun dessert!

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The street vendors that sell mini pancakes make them on a griddle with pockets that are filled with pancake patter and flip them with a stick. As beautiful and tasty as those are, those mini pancake machines are VERY expensive. They can run anywhere from $400-$800 depending on how many holes you want on the machine.
This mini pancake recipe is not exactly the same but still very delicious! They are fluffy and soft, perfect for picking up all of the flavors you top them with!
Other Mini Pancake Flavors
Yes! There are soo many flavor and topping options! Here are a few I have see or come up with:
- Strawberry, banana, whipped cream, and syrup
- Vanilla ice cream with oreo cookie pieces sprinkled on top
- Vanilla and strawberry ice cream with fruity pebbles sprinkled on top
- and so many more!
Step by step process
Making the Tres Leches Sauce
In a bowl or large jar, mix the 12 oz can of evaporated milk, 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk, ½ a cup of heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk/mix until well combined. Refrigerate until needed. Reserve the remaining sweetened condensed milk in the can, we will need it for drizzling on top of the pancakes.
Making the Mini Pancakes
To make the pancakes you will need to start off by combining the milk and vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes or until it begins to curdle.
Next in a bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (make sure to work out any lumps in the baking soda before adding it to the flour). Set aside.
Now that the milk has curdled, add the oil (or melted butter), eggs, and vanilla to the milk and mix until smooth and well combined.
To your dry ingredients add your milk and with a whisk to combine until it all just comes together. The batter will be thick, that is ok. You still want to see some lumps in the batter.
You will also notice that bubbles are forming at the top. The vinegar is reacting to the baking soda. This will make the pancake more fluffy.
Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.
While the batter rests, heat a non-stick pan over low to medium-low heat.
Using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, spoon the batter onto the pan. Use the back of the spoon to help spread the batter out to make a circle.
Flip the pancake after about 1 minute or until the bottoms are golden brown.
Cook for another minute on the flipped side
Once fully cooked remove and place on a serving plate.
Serving
Place the pancakes on a plate or bowl. You can serve as many pancakes as you’d like. Pour the tres leches sauce on top of the pancakes, next add some whip cream on top or on the side of the pancakes. Top if off by drizzling some sweetened condensed milk, dulce de leche sauce, and chopped strawberries.
Tips & Ideas
The more you mix your batter the more dense your pancakes will be. It’s ok to have lumps in the mixture, it will make your pancake light and fluffy.
Another pan or griddle I like to use is a cast iron griddle
By using 1 tablespoon as a measuring utensil it should make about 2 inch pancakes.
Pancakes should be anywhere from 2-3 inches in diameter
Use a 2 tablespoon measuring spoon for 3 inch pancakes or 1 tablespoon measuring spoon for 2 inch pancakes.
The batter will be thick, that is totally normal! Use the messing spoon to spread out the batter on the pan or griddle.
You could replace the milk with buttermilk (equal parts). I like using the milk and vinegar because I don’t always end up using the whole buttermilk bottle and it just goes bad.
Use 1 tablespoon measuring spoon for 2 inch pancakes, or 2 tablespoon measuring spoon for 3.5 inch pancakes. Smaller pancakes are easier to share.
Pancakes and toppings should be stored in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Makes approx 50-60 2-3 inch pancakes
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy!
Tres Leches Mini Pancakes Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 60 mini pancakes 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
Description
More of a dessert than breakfast, these mini pancakes are quickly becoming popular on the streets of Southern California, these quick and delicious pancakes are great for parties, brunches, as a fun afternoon treat or a fun dessert!
Ingredients
For the pancakes
1 ¾ cups of milk
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
½ tablespoon of vanilla extract
3 tablespoons of a neutral oil or melted butter
For the tres leches milk mix
1 – 12 oz can of evaporated milk
1 – 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk – divided
½ cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Toppings
Fresh strawberries, diced
Dulce de leche, for drizzling on top
Sweetened condensed milk, for drizzling, (reserved from 14 oz can)
Whipped cream
Instructions
Making the Tres Leches Sauce
In a bowl or large jar, mix the 12 oz can of evaporated milk, 1 cup of sweetened condensed milk, ½ a cup of heavy cream, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk/mix until well combined. Refrigerate until needed. Reserve the remaining sweetened condensed milk in the can, we will need it for drizzling on top of the pancakes.
Making the Mini Pancakes
To make the pancakes you will need to start off by combining the milk and vinegar and let it sit for 5 minutes or until it begins to curdle.
Next in a bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda (make sure to work out any lumps in the baking soda before adding it to the flour). Set aside.
Now that the milk has curdled, add the oil (or melted butter), eggs, and vanilla to the milk and mix until smooth and well combined.
To your dry ingredients add your milk and with a whisk to combine until it all just comes together. The batter will be thick, that is ok. You still want to see some lumps in the batter.
You will also notice that bubbles are forming at the top. The vinegar is reacting to the baking soda. This will make the pancake more fluffy.
Let the batter rest for about 10 minutes.
While the batter rests, heat a non-stick pan over low to medium-low heat.
Using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, spoon the batter onto the pan. Use the back of the spoon to help spread the batter out to make a circle.
Flip the pancake after about 1 minute or until the bottoms are golden brown.
Cook for another minute on the flipped side
Once fully cooked remove and place on a serving plate.
Serving
Place the pancakes on a plate or bowl. You can serve as many pancakes as you’d like. Pour the tres leches sauce on top of the pancakes, next add some whip cream on top or on the side of the pancakes. Top if off by drizzling some sweetened condensed milk, dulce de leche sauce, and chopped strawberries.
Notes
The more you mix your batter the more dense your pancakes will be. It’s ok to have lumps in the mixture, it will make your pancake light and fluffy.
Another pan or griddle I like to use is a cast iron griddle
By using 1 tablespoon as a measuring utensil it should make about 2 inch pancakes.
Pancakes should be anywhere from 2-3 inches in diameter
Use a 2 tablespoon measuring spoon for 3 inch pancakes or 1 tablespoon measuring spoon for 2 inch pancakes.
The batter will be thick, that is totally normal! Use the messing spoon to spread out the batter on the pan or griddle.
Makes approx 50-60 2-3 inch pancakes
Keywords: Mini pancakes, street food mini pancakes, tres leches mini pancakes
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