This question has crossed my mind many times.  They are called pancakes, but they aren’t baked, filled, or frosted.  They usually don’t even have sugar.  Why are they called pancakes?

According to dictionary.com, a pancake is a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring. 

The only thing I can see as a problem is the lack of sugar.  Otherwise it has flour, baking powder, eggs, and you cold add liquid flavoring, but you could add sugar, too.

I look at it this way, it’s cake with a twist.  It’s just the same as a cake, only it’s cooked on a pan.  You can make it chocolate cake if you want. 

When you frost a cake, you add more sweetness to it.  The frosting does just the same as they syrup.  A cake is fluffy and like bread, and so is a pancake.

Of course, the biggest similarity of all is the fact that it has the same name.  A pancake! 

I might continue to wonder if a pancake is really cake, but it won’t have any effect on how much I love pancakes!

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