Perfect Pancake Puff

I bought this thing for 5$ at Big Lots. That was my first mistake! Keep in mind I cook regularly and figuring out how to use kitchen gadgets has never been hard for me. This thing is a fine example of a cool idea but lousy product!First problem: The quality is really flimsy and cheap. The metal of this pan is very thin and so is the handle. Even with the handle gaurd the cheap plastic handle started MELTING the first time I used it making my kitchen stink like burned plastic.The second problem: The bottom has the wells and it's nearly impossible to get it to lie flat on a gas stove burner. This isn't a problem for someone with a glass stove but mine isn't...So it tips and falls in between the burners unless you have it sitting just right.Third problem: The temperature!...This thing is either super hot and burns things or else it's not hot enough. This means that you end up with have fried dough balls that are usually charred on one side and raw in the center. That is, if you can get it hot enough to cook the food and NOT the cheap plastic handle. Getting the temperature right is nearly impossible and keeping it that way is even worse! The thin metal does not distribute heat evenly so things in the center get charred. Wouldn't a flat bottom pan make more sense?Other problems: The cakes don't flip with the silly pointed wooden sticks they give you. The surface is also NOT non-stick at all. No matter what I used, butter, oil, Pam...Nothing I used or did seemed to make a difference. I ended up flipping them with a spoon and even then I had trouble. I ended up with 50% edible puffs and even most of those were either unevenly cooked or burned on one side or mushy in the center.I can't really see how someone can make this work without great difficulty. I gave it a few honest tries and used different kinds of batter, etc. Maybe if you have a flat electric stove, endless patience and you don't mind the scent of burned plastic. If you have nothing better to do, you might be able to strike the perfect balance and make a decent batch. Even so, it seems frustrating and time consuming!Personally I like the concept of stuffed pancakes but I think I will skip this product. There are other similar pans made by different companies that have a flat bottom and appear to be better quality. I am not giving up on the idea that I can create some yummy stuffed pancakes...but I am sure I will not be doing it with this pan. It's not well made and has too many design flaws. There might be people out there with the patience to use this thing but I am convinced it would be faster, easier and yeild a better result using a better pan! I'm sure glad I didn't pay full price for this! The pastry filler thing, the sugar shaker and the wooden sticks it came with turned out to be more useful than the pan! Oh well!

I bought one cheap on a whim, looked online for a recipe, & found Ms Paris' review which gave me timely warning about keeping track of the handle RE the stove flame, the tipping problem, and not turning the heat up too far--Thanks, Ms Paris! I solved the tipping problem by using a heat diffuser/simmer ring with the flame set at 4 (out of 9 heat levels), and also tried the grill from a 2-person BBQ with the flame set at 2. Either way, the pan was stabilized and the puffs did not burn, but the insides were more gooey than I care for (edible, not great). The puffs turned easily ONLY if I waited 'til I could see about 1/8" rim of translucent color when shortly after, the puffs loosened themselves and could be twirled in the cups. The set included a wasted piece of paper with lower-quality B&W copies of the color pictures on the box. That paper would have been useful if it had had a basic recipe, instructions RE heat & stabilizing, and info on how on earth one gets the inside cooked. Not the worst cheap gadget, definitely not the best.