carrot cake pancakes
I first stumbled upon this recipe on pinterest. While pancakes are super easy, even from scratch in a foreign country, I can't bring myself to eat the white flour, sugar, and syrup concoction on a regular basis! These pancakes are amazing because they contain carrots--when else do you get veggies in your breakfast? Well maybe in an omelet...
I've never used crushed pineapple because it's not easily available. I don't always have pecans. One time I added orange zest. Sometimes I add extra coconut to make up for it (available at Metro). It's really a very flexible recipe. What to make it healthier? Switch out the white flour for whole wheat.
When I serve it for guests, I have traditional pancake syrup and a cream cheese or heavy cream-based glaze available. Both flavors work well with the pancakes. For myself, I just eat the pancakes plain. Sometimes for breakfast. Sometimes for a mid-morning snack. They keep well in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze them and reheat later.
CARROT CAKE PANCAKES
from Lick the Bowl Good
1 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ginger
¼ cup brown sugar
¾ cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups grated carrot
1 tsp orange zest
3 Tbsp crushed pineapple
3 Tbsp shredded coconut
3 Tbsp raisins
3 Tbsp toasted chopped pecans
COMBINE flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger in a large bowl with a whisk. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and eggs together.
ADD sugar mixture to the flour mixture and gently combine with a large spatula. Do not over mix. Fold in the carrots, orange zest, pineapple, coconut, raisins and pecans.
HEAT a cast iron skillet/griddle/other large skillet over medium heat. Coat the bottom with butter, if needed. Spoon (¼ cup) batter into the skillet and gently spread the batter out a little bit. Cook for a couple minutes or until you see the top covered with bubbles. Flip over and cook another minute or two.
