Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Cake of the Week: Pumpkin Pancakes

I went to a very small elementary school with just one teacher per grade. That meant that everyone knew exactly what to expect each year, especially those of us with older siblings. I knew that Mrs. Mullins made her 3rd graders stay in at recess if they didn’t finish the homework, that Steve was the coolest 5th grade teacher in the world, and that Mr. Paul took his students to 6th grade camp. Mrs. Wright’s 4th grade class was arguably the best year ever – students went on an overnight on the C.A. Thayer, and the class made Pumpkin Pancakes on Halloween.


Since that fateful year, I have loved pumpkin pancakes with a love unparalleled by any other breakfast food adoration. Pancakes are my absolute favorite kind of cake (bold statement, but I stand by it). This is their Eat Run Read debut, mostly because I rarely have the patience to take pictures before I dig into a plate of light fluffy syrupy deliciousness.


I like all kinds - blueberry, whole wheat, chocolate chip, etc. etc. But pumpkin pancakes are the best of all worlds because they’re spicy and pumpkin-y and go ridiculously well with real maple syrup, toasted walnuts, and dark chocolate.


I made these for a house brunch, and I’d say they were a smashing success.

Pumpkin Pancakes (adapted from Sweet Pea's Kitchen)

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  •  pinch of ground cloves
  • 1 cup milk
  • 6 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (optional)
  • 1 dark chocolate bar, chopped (optional)


Directions:
  1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves.
  2. In a separate bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. 
  3. Mix in toasted walnuts and dark chocolate pieces.
  4. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat (unless you're using a non-stick skillet - in that case no butter necessary); pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes per side. 
Yields: 8 to 10 pancakes

I wish this picture were better focused on the chocolatey awesomeness inside these pancakes, but unfortunately I had urgent business to attend to and was unable to get a better shot. 



(That 'urgent business' may or may not have been eating the pancakes. Could you have waited???)