Hotcake vs. Pancake — What's the Difference?

A hotcake is a flat, round breakfast dish made from a flour-based batter.

A pancake is a flat, round dish often enjoyed for breakfast.

A hotcake is often served with toppings like syrup, fruit, or whipped cream.

A pancake may include ingredients like buttermilk for flavor and texture.

A hotcake can be thick or thin depending on the recipe used.

A pancake can come in international variants, such as the French crêpe.

A hotcake can be part of a larger breakfast spread, often accompanying eggs and bacon.

A pancake is generally cooked until bubbles form on the surface.

A hotcake can be made with different types of flour, such as whole wheat or cornmeal.

A pancake can have various fillings, such as blueberries or chocolate chips.

See pancake.

A pancake (or hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, not to be confused with oat bar flapjacks) is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk and butter and cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan, often frying with oil or butter. Archaeological evidence suggests that pancakes were probably the earliest and most widespread cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies.The pancake's shape and structure varies worldwide.

(North America) A pancake.

A thin, flat cake of batter, fried on both sides in a pan and typically rolled up with a sweet or savoury filling

A flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle

Make-up consisting of a flat solid layer of compressed powder, used especially in the theatre.

(with reference to an aircraft) make or cause to make a pancake landing

Flatten or become flattened

A thin cake made of batter that is poured onto a hot greased surface and cooked on both sides until brown. Also called flannel cake, flapjack, griddle cake, hotcake; also called regionally battercake.

To cause (an aircraft) to make a pancake landing.

To make a pancake landing.

To fall flat to the ground with great force, especially to collapse in such a way that higher floors or structures fall directly on the ones beneath.

A thin batter cake fried in a pan or on a griddle in oil or butter; in particular:

In England, an often unleavened cake similar to a crepe.

In the US (and e.g. Scotland), a leavened, thicker, fluffier cake.

(theater) A kind of makeup, consisting of a thick layer of a compressed powder.

(juggling) A type of throw, usually with a ring where the prop is thrown in such a way that it rotates round an axis of the diameter of the prop.

Anything very thin and flat.

Composite leather made of scraps, glue and board, by extension of (4), material originally used for insoles, but later used also for heels and even soles.

A box on which an actor stands to make them appear taller.

(volleyball) A defensive play in which the ball bounces off the top of a hand that has been pressed flat against the floor.

(intransitive) To make a pancake landing.

To collapse one floor after another.

(transitive) To flatten violently.

A thin cake of batter fried in a pan or on a griddle; a griddlecake; a flapjack.

A flat cake of thin batter fried on both sides on a griddle

Generally, yes, hotcakes and pancakes refer to the same type of food but may differ regionally.

A hotcake is a flat, round breakfast food made from batter and cooked on a griddle or frying pan.

Yes, both hotcakes and pancakes can be made in various flavors and styles.

Yes, "hotcake" is more commonly used in specific regions, like the American South.

The phrase "selling like hotcakes" indicates something is very popular.

No, "pancake" is not commonly used idiomatically.

"Pancake" is more universally understood and used in cooking literature.

Both can be made in savory variations, although this is less common.

Yes, but they are often referred to by different names like "flapjacks" in some U.S. regions.

A pancake is a similar flat, round dish made from batter, typically enjoyed for breakfast.

Yes, like the French crêpes, which are thinner than typical American pancakes.

Syrup, fruits, and whipped cream are popular hotcake toppings.

Yes, both hotcakes and pancakes can be made in vegan variations using plant-based ingredients.

Similar to hotcakes, pancakes are often topped with syrup, fruits, and whipped cream.

They are generally the same, though the term used may differ based on the brand or region.