I love pancakes so much. Let me list them all. First and foremost, I enjoy pancakes because they allow me to have cake for breakfast. or supper. Second, nothing makes me happier than seeing a plate of heaping pancakes. Aren’t leisurely mornings events that merit celebration? To them, pancakes are due. Last but not least, unlike doughnuts or pastries, airy whole wheat pancakes like these keep me full until lunchtime. Pass the pancakes; pause for pastries.
Since I first came across these pancakes in the Joy the Baker Cookbook, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them. I adore Joy the Baker a lot. Why? Because she posts kale and quinoa cakes one day and cheesecake the next. She makes Jules, her cat, birthday cakes, and then blatantly announces it to the public. No one gets birthday cake, not even Cookie. And as I work from home, her humorous podcasts keep me company. I consider her to be a friend, so when she released her first cookbook, I had to get it right away. It is, as the cover of the cookbook indicates, a celebration of butter and sugar, but these pancakes stood out since they contain less of both while remaining delicious.
I had previously attempted to make carrot cake pancakes, but Joy’s recipe was far more successful than the first, yielding thin, chewy pancakes instead. In my first effort, I tried to shred the carrots using my food processor, but it didn’t grate them finely enough. The finished pancakes were somewhat dense and somewhat crispy. If you give it some thought, it makes sense because while pancakes are cooked for less than 5 minutes, the actual carrots in a carrot cake take almost 30 minutes to break down in the oven.
Also read : Peach Crisps
The only thing stopping me from creating these pancakes was the problem with the carrots, but lo and behold, Deb of Smitten Kitchen shared Joy’s carrot cake pancakes along with her suggestions for grating carrots. Deb suggested using a fine grater instead of the food processor to grind the carrots by hand, which didn’t exactly please me but had me considering other options. (Hand grating takes far more energy than I have in the morning.) I came up with a few solutions to get around the issue, and happily, my initial try utilizing the simplest approach worked perfectly. As usual, I grated carrots in my food processor using the grating blade. Next, I switched to the all-purpose blade and pulsed the carrots a few times. Voila! Carrots easily converted into fine grating.
I was not surprised to learn that I enjoyed these pancakes given that two of my favorite food bloggers do. They are rich and delicious, and my recipe also includes healthful grains and carrots. Why not adore it? I recommend preparing them this weekend.
INGREDIENTS
- Pancakes
- 1 cup whole wheat flour, whether for baking or otherwise
- one tablespoon of baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 14 teaspoon of ginger, ground
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons of packed brown sugar or muscovado sugar
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence per cup of buttermilk
- two cups of finely grated carrots (about six large or eight medium-sized carrots) butter for the griddle
- topped with maple cream cheese
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese
- two teaspoons of pure maple syrup.
- Milk, 2 tablespoons (more or less depending on desired consistency)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- a pinch of cinnamon powder
INSTRUCTIONS
- To keep the pancakes warm before serving, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream cheese should be placed in a basin and left out to soften at room temperature.
- Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a big bowl.
- Combine the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla in a smaller bowl.
- After incorporating the carrots, immediately pour the wet liquid into the dry mixture. Only stir enough to integrate. While you prepare the cream cheese topping and heat up your griddle or skillet, let the mixture sit for 5 minutes.
- In a small bowl, stir the cream cheese until it is completely smooth and lump-free. If your cream cheese isn’t yet soft enough to do this, try nuking it for a few seconds at a time in the microwave. Add the milk, cinnamon, vanilla, and maple syrup after whisking. You are welcome to add extra syrup to sweeten it or more milk to further thin it out. Place aside.
- Melt a generous amount of butter in a cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Using the measuring cup to press the batter down and out a little, pour a scant 1/4 cup batter into the hot pan. Cook the pancakes, flipping once, until browned on both sides.
- As you cook the remaining pancakes, add additional butter to the pan as necessary. Place the cooked pancakes on an ovenproof tray and keep them in the oven. If you want to make it even sweeter, serve it with more maple syrup on the side and top it with maple cream cheese.