Hot Cakes Not Selling Like Hot Cakes, But What About Pancakes?

According to a British food writer, the humble hot cake – “essentially just a pancake” and a “dessert” – is no longer selling like hot cakes. Need proof? Pancake mix sales are down 1.5 percent since 2009, crowded out by brownies, cronuts “and other baked goods”. The premise of Christopher Hooton’s article is amusing, but it is also somewhat confused. In the U.S., at least, pancakes are essentially a breakfast food, not a dessert. Pancake restaurants like the International House of Pancakes (IHOP) chain seem to be doing quite well in the face of competition from brownies and cronuts. The hot cake may be dead – but long live the pancake.