Is it breakfast? Is it art? It’s both—It’s pancake art! Zombie pancakes at that for Pete’s sake, and they’re hands down awesome. These pancakes will solve any inner ghoul’s morning craving for zee brains and blood—with some added red “Zombie Jam” to up the scary knotch just a bit, of course.
Pancake artist, freelance illustrator, math teacher, and awesome dad, Nathan Shields is responsible for these amazing pancake masterpieces. In the YouTube video below, Nathan narrates his zombie pancakes in the sped-up video, giving you a glimpse of his intricate designs.
It’s interesting to watch him make 'em up! He accomplishes the pancake shading by leaving thin lines of batter on the hot pan for a little longer than the other batter strokes. Nathan begins by strategically creating his outline first—allowing the batter strokes to cook longer, resulting in a darkened outline. He then fills in thicker lines within the outlines, turning those into his mid-tones. When the mid-tone batter becomes slightly tacky, Nathan fills in the rest of the space for the highlights. With a quick flip over, the undead comes to life…or…something like that.
There is a method to Nathan’s madness. He uses a 12-oz wide-mouth squeeze bottle, an extra large spatula, and nonstick pan. His stove-top reaches 460ºF, which is just the right temperature for the fast cooking required for such delicate details.
His recipe is super easy, too. I might give pancake art a chance; if not at the very awesome least, here’s Nathan’s tasty recipe:
3 cups of flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2-cup applesauce
3 tbsp. melted butter or substitute
2 3/4 cups soy milk
Zombies are just the beginning though. From various insects, intricate “Spirocakes,” portraits of The Beatles, iconic Star Wars characters, detailed animals, famous historian figures, and so on, this dad turns pancakes into tasty education as well as entertainment for his two children, Gryphon and Alice.
All of Nathan’s creations can be found at SaiPancakes.com. The reason it’s called Sai? Nathan began cooking up his pancake art in the Pacific island of Saipan while he and his family lived there.
I’m impressed by the thin lines of batter he has going on. I’m lucky to get a mouse head right, let alone a pancake zombie that looks better (and tastes better) than any drawing I could whip up. However, I’d happily be the receptor of any mess-ups during the process.
What pancake art designs would you make?
Photo by: Screenshot | YouTube
