Sure, some people ignore it, some people think it's overrated. But no matter your relationship status, I think it's always fun to celebrate Valentine's Day. Honestly, I've been celebrating all week at work with handing out candy, wearing red clothes, and sharing different stories of love.
When February 14 finally did roll around I still wanted to do a little something special to commemorate it. I already knew my day was going to busy with various commitments so I doubted I'd have time to craft my own chocolates (as I've done in the past), or even make it out to a nice Valentine's dinner. The solution: squeeze in a Valentine-themed breakfast.
During the week I was reading Valentine's stories on Facebook and came across an intriguing photo and recipe for Dark Chocolate Pancakes with Raspberry Sauce from the Eat Drink Love blog. I already had most of the ingredients, and a quick trip to the grocery store brought me the remaining buttermilk, raspberries, and fresh eggs I would need to construct a pancake experiment. I made the batter and raspberry sauce the night before to ensure enough time for breakfast in the morning.
Like any pancake recipe, this one was a simple mix of dry and wet ingredients cooked on an oiled griddle, with a bonus of delicious fruit syrup (cooked like a compote, then run through a sieve to remove the seeds). The fun part was shaping them into hearts and enjoying chocolate for breakfast!
Chocolate Raspberry Pancakes
Ingredients:
For the raspberry syrup:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup fresh raspberries, rinsed
For pancakes:
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup unsweetened dark coca powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Directions:
1.) In a small pot, combine the water, raspberries and sugar. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It helps to smush the raspberries a little with a spoon. After 10 minutes, remove from heat and blend the mixture in a food processor until smooth (I don't have a food processor, so I just stirred it vigorously with a fork). Strain through a sieve (optional) to remove seeds.
2.) In a large bowl combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Create a small well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk, beaten egg, oil, and vanilla extract (the original recipe didn't say when to add in the chocolate chips so I left them out). Stir the ingredients until just combined but do not overmix.
3.) Heat a pan or griddle to medium heat and coat with canola oil. When the griddle is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles when lightly splashed on the surface, you know it's time to pour the pancakes. Spread about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of batter onto the griddle with a spoon, shaping into a heart (draw two thick "lines" and let them meet at the tips like a "V").
4.) Leave pancakes on the griddle for about 1-2 minutes on each side until cooked all the way through. Remove and top with the raspberry syrup and a few fresh raspberries.
My only issue with this recipe is that the pancakes came out a little more dry than I would have liked. To remedy this for next time, I might add a little milk to the batter (many pancake recipes call for buttermilk and milk) use melted butter instead of canola oil in the batter (perhaps two tablespoons instead of one) and/or add the chocolate chips into the batter before cooking the pancakes. But I didn't want to go too overboard with the chocolate--it was still early, after all.
With a few modifications, you can make this recipe for your special someone, your chocolate-loving friends, or as a quick treat for yourself! Happy Valentine's Day!
