The plates are not removable and it cannot be immersed in water, so it will take all kinds of contortions to clean it properly. And if you overfill which is very easy given its size, be prepared for the drips and spill all over the sides and that area just beyond the plates where crud easily gathers. (Area is not non-stick, so anything here needs to be wetted down and the water "soaked" in to remove. I needed a scrub pad to clean.). Though, one way to minimize spills is to pour in the batter, let the pancakes set up, then close the lid.
To be fair, I figured given the price that it didn't come with removable plates. So, it only accounts for a small portion of my disappointment. My biggest issue is that it doesn't make particularly good pancakes. And that's mostly related to size.
The machine itself is shockingly tiny. It's no taller than my toaster and about 1/2 as wide. A large part of that area belongs to the handle, heating element and stand. The result is pancakes that are about the size of a a silver dollar. An actual silver dollar (in diameter and width) not a restaurant silver dollar pancake. A two-bite for adults. Or what you would find on a cocktail table beneath a spread of something.
The machine uses the standard, red, yellow and green lights to let the user know when it's ready and when the pancake is ready. I followed this. That batch of pancakes were browned on the outside, uncooked on the inside. The next batch I left to cook a little bit longer. Same result. The third batch, I left even longer. They were darn near hockey pucks. Nicely brown but extremely crispy. Don't know about you, but I don't like crispy pancakes. The remaining batches were a mix of okay and just like the others.
About 45 mins in, the areas on the end stopped browning at all. This seemed to be an issue with the top plate. The pancake browned on the bottom, but the not on the top. On one batch, this happened on the bottom right. Next round, it was the top right. By the very last batch, almost all were unevenly cooked on the top. Had to flip them over and close the top again.
The whole waiting game of waiting for the plates to reheat makes the whole cooking process take a long time. It took near an hour to cook about 2 cups of batter. The directions suggested 1/2 tablespoon for each pancake area. Sometimes I adhered to this. Sometimes not. In any event, if you have a family to feed, look somewhere else or plan not to eat yourself.
All things said and done, nice novelty item, but not practical for actually feeding people. It might be worth it if you've got plenty of time or you're cooking ahead for a cocktail party (and serving cold pancakes).
Unfortunately the packaging was tossed with some other boxes so I cannot return. But it's unlikely that I will ever use again.
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This is so easy and quick, the grandkids love it, and I found there are a lot of things you can do. I used strawberries with marscapone between two with a fancy tootpick for appetizers. I have also made blini for my caviar obsession. It's so easy to clean. I would suggest using a squeeze bottle to load the mix, makes it a lot easier. I have made up to 200 at a time, no problems whatsoever.
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