Nutella Pancakes with Mascarpone Cream

These Nutella pancakes with mascarpone cream are a weekend brunch dream! Serve with your favourite fresh fruit and chopped nuts.

At my house, pancakes have always been a special breakfast reserved for weekend brunch.

This is largely because none of us have the time (or patience) to make a cooked breakfast during the week!

But also, weekday breakfast items are usually something healthy that can hold us up until lunchtime.

Whereas weekend brunch, on the other hand, is for fun delicious recipes that we look forward to all week. Like this yummy Nutella pancake recipe with decadent mascarpone cream.

These Nutella pancakes aren't your typical fluffy pancakes. The hazelnut spread makes the batter a bit more dense, so the texture ends up being more like a thick crepe. But oh my goodness, they're so tasty!!!

For me, the mascarpone cream is what makes this recipe extra yummy. The cheese adds just a bit of acidity that cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate hazelnut spread.

If you don't like the idea of the mascarpone cream, you could simply eat the Nutella pancakes with maple syrup and/or butter instead.

I topped my pancakes with toasted hazelnuts (for crunch) and slices of ripe banana, but you can definitely make substitutions for those toppings. For example, toasted almonds and slices of strawberries would probably be a delicious alternative.

Nutella Pancakes Ingredients

• Nutella, of course, works best in this recipe. However, you can also use Kraft's Chocolate Hazelnut spread.
• Mascarpone cheese is not the same as cream cheese. It has a slightly sweet flavour, with less tang than cream cheese.
• I have not tested this recipe with a substitute for mascarpone cheese, but if you can't find it you can try this mascarpone cheese substitution instead.
• The toasted hazelnuts can be substituted for any nut, or omitted completely.
• The bananas are also optional. Substitute your favourite fresh fruit or omit entirely.
• I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flour or non-dairy milk.

Making the mascarpone cream is super simple. All you have to do is mix the cheese, hazelnut spread, and a bit of milk together until it's well incorporated.

I usually use a hand mixer for this because it's fast. If you don't have one, you can use a whisk or a wooden spoon. Just know that the cheese will be a bit stiff at first, but the mixture should loosen up a bit as you go.

When your cream is mixed, put it in the fridge until you've cooked your pancakes and are ready to eat.

When spread on warm pancakes, the cream melts down a bit, so there's no need to warm up the cream. Use it straight out of the fridge.

Do not try to microwave the cream, as it will melt and ruin the texture completely.

I usually have some of the cream leftover when I'm done with my breakfast, so I keep it in the fridge to enjoy with the remaining pancakes the next day.

The only tip for making the pancake batter is to make sure to whisk the Nutella in thoroughly. You don't want to have any lumps of chocolate hazelnut spread.

Use a large bowl so you have lots of room to whisk, without having to worry about batter spilling everywhere.

Once the batter is ready, you're ready to start cooking the pancakes.

These pancakes cook best in a non-stick skillet on a non-stick griddle.

The sugar in the Nutella can cause these pancakes to burn quite easily! Be careful not to have your heat too high, and keep an eye on the pancakes while they're cooking.

When the pancake has bubbles on the surface that's how you know it's time to flip it over. The second side usually only takes about a minute more to cook.

Both sides of the pancake should be a light golden brown colour when fully cooked.

I like to stack my cooked pancakes on a plate while I'm making the rest of the batter. If you find your pancakes are sticking together, you can put pieces of parchment paper in between each layer.

I recommend topping these pancakes at the last minute for the best flavour and texture.

I like to take a couple of spoonfuls of the cream and spread it over the warm (not hot) pancakes, then I add my banana slices and crushed toasted almonds.

If you're serving this to guests at brunch, I'd recommend putting the cream and crushed nuts into bowls with spoons and letting your guests build their own pancakes. That way, everyone can have as much or as little toppings as they like.

That's everything you need to know to make this delicious Nutella pancake recipe! If you make these, I'd love to know how they turn out! Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Cooking!