HOCO Pancake Rally at Queen’s

Jordan Low
Oct 28
3 min read

Serves: 6–8 | Time: 1 hour plus rise | Type: Early breakfast party

Early breakfast. Big spirit. FOCO energy.

FOCO at Queen’s starts early, so we built a breakfast that keeps up. Think fluffy yeast pancakes, a glossy honey butter syrup inspired by Golden Diner NYC, and tricolour jelly shots in Queen’s red, gold, and blue. Make it non-alcoholic for the morning rally, or add a responsible splash for later.

This post will feature photos of Queen’s students in their colors. Pancake flips, house banners, and big smiles. It is the campus vibe on a plate.

Why this hits for HOCO and FOCO

Pre-game fuel: Protein from eggs and milk, slow energy from yeast batter
School spirit on the table: Tricolour gels that match your fit checks
Batch friendly: Batter rises while you set up the speaker and the banner
DWJ Tested Winner Rating:
- Cost: 4/5
- Taste: 5/5
- Effort: 3.5/5
Waste Saved: Pantry staples and leftover juices get used up

The Recipes

Yeast Pancakes

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 packet instant yeast, 7 g
½ tsp fine salt
1¾ cups warm milk
2 eggs
3 tbsp melted butter or neutral oil
1 tsp vanilla

Instructions

Whisk flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add warm milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk smooth.
Cover and let rise 30 to 40 minutes until bubbly and thick.
Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium. Ladle batter. Cook until bubbles form and edges set. Flip and cook to golden. Keep warm under a clean towel.

Honey Butter Syrup, Golden Diner inspired

Ingredients

½ cup honey
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup water
Pinch of salt
Optional (but highly recommended) lemon squeeze

Instructions: Simmer honey, butter, water, and salt for 2 to 3 minutes until glossy. Add a tiny squeeze of lemon if you like it bright. Keep warm for pouring.

Ravneet and Mehar's FOCO Special

Queen’s Tricolour Jello Shots

Impress your friends with a simple non-alocoholic jello shot!

Base per layer

1 cup juice or sports drink in your chosen color
1 tbsp sugar, optional
1 packet gelatin, 7 g

Colors

Blue: blue sports drink or blue colouring
Red: cranberry or fruit punch
Gold: pineapple juice or mango nectar

Instructions

Bloom gelatin in ¼ cup liquid for 5 minutes. Heat remaining liquid with sugar until steaming. Stir in bloomed gelatin to dissolve. Add spirit if using.
Pour first color into cups. Chill until set. Repeat with the next colors for stripes. Keep chilled until serving.

FOCO serving game plan

Build a pancake bar with warm syrup, butter squares, berries, and yogurt.
Stack cakes, drizzle honey butter, and add a confetti of zest for photos.
Line up tricolour gels next to water bottles and fruit. Keep everyone happy and hydrated.

Flavourtown notes

Batter too thick after rising? Whisk in a splash of milk.
Extra fluffy trick: separate eggs, whip whites to soft peaks, and fold in.
Salt in the syrup matters. It makes the honey pop.
Non-alcoholic gels set firmer. If you add spirits, give each layer more time to set.

DWJ Sustainability spotlight

Use what you have. The last of the honey jar becomes syrup when you add hot water and shake. Open juice bottles become perfect gel layers. Leftover pancakes reheat in a toaster or become late-night ice cream sandwiches. Small choices save money and reduce waste, even on the biggest campus days.

Ravneet reviews

“Shockingly competent for a pre-FOCO kitchen. Pancakes are risen, not rubber. Syrup is glossy and salted like someone reads recipes. Jelly layers even line up. If the first flip is this good at 8 a.m., I might forgive the speaker choice. Keep the lemon squeeze in the syrup. It is doing heavy lifting. Proud and slightly irritated I have so little to fix.”

Mehar reviews

“I love breakfasts so this might be a bit biased! Pancakes feel like little clouds that high-five the honey. I ate one stack, then a second stack ate me. Ten out of ten would plate again. Gave me a great start to FOCO!”

Try the DWJ FOCO Challenge

Send us your favourite FOCO breakfasts! Tag @diningwith.jordan and use #DWJChallenge and #QueensFOCO. Best stack and best spirit will be featured in our gallery and entered for a mini cooking session with Chef JLow.