From cheese boards to charcuterie boards, sleek wooden panels ornately adorned with beautiful foods have been a social media mainstay for years (who could forget those gorgeous grazing tables in 2019?).
The latest board-based food trend is all about brunch. Breakfast lovers, meet the "pancake board."
Just as the name implies, a pancake board is a food display that replaces sliced cheeses and meats with pancakes. It can include various morning staples, like bacon, eggs and fresh fruit. There's usually syrup involved, too.
Pancake-focused boards have been spotted on Instagram as early as 2018, but the trend really started taking off earlier this year around National Pancake Day in late February.
What sets pancake boards apart from traditional breakfast setups is the thought process behind each meticulously curated display. For starters, you want your pancakes to be perfect, which may require a special tool.
"To cook the pancakes, I highly recommend a mold," food blogger Valentina of Valentina's Corner wrote in a 2019 post. "The pancakes come out perfect, uniform and so fluffy. Spoon the batter into the mold half full. Cook over medium, once pancakes rise and start to bubble and have holes, they are ready to be flipped."
The best part about pancake boards is that the possibilities are endless. Enjoy fried chicken with pancakes? Slice it up and put it on your board! Loves waffles? Make a waffle board! While fruit is a common accompaniment because it's so colorful, those with a real sweet tooth could also pile on mini jars of Nutella, chocolate chips, sprinkles or even chopped up candy bars.
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Some people load up their boards with all kinds of breakfast fixings like bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and even hash browns.
Others take a simpler approach, using mostly fresh fruit.
Some make theirs extra fancy with fresh flowers and extra pastries.
If you're looking for the perfect way to say "thank you" to mom this Mother's Day, try serving up a pancake board with all of her favorite fruits and sides.
