JOURNOSPEAK: PANCAKES

I am one of those people who are very traditional and orthodox when it comes to their Chocolates. I might be outgoing in every other aspect of life,but not my chocolates. While I still swear by my childhood favorite of Dairy Milk Chocolate,my adult taste buds are more tuned towards the darker varieties. I do not mix or tend to dilute, I should say, my chocolate. So no Mint Chocolate or Rhubarb Chocolate or any such popular concoctions work for me. But what I love is how I can integrate Chocolate to things that I love. I love PANCAKES as you know and Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes are a weakness of mine.

Double Chocolate?! Whats that you might think? The name double Chocolate means that it uses two different sources of Chocolate: Cocoa Powder and Chocolate Chips. I amped it a notch further. How about thick and decadent Gancahe to top it off. Chocolate Overload.

Who doesn't need a Chocolate overload every now and then. I never seem to mind it. Neither do my husband and daughter. So after a hectic week and an even hectic Friday and Saturday, I decided to reward us, by having some Chocolate Pancakes for Breakfast. Added some orange wedges on the side, , to cut the sweetness. Some strong black coffee for Mommy and daddy and Milk Shake for the toddler. Sunday Breakfast was taken care of.

Yes, you guessed it right, I did not have a Chocolate Pan Cake Mix. Do they even have one? Not that I know of. So a quick browsing on my smart phone and I started to round up the ingredients from the Pantry. I could mix in some Nutella as well, I thought. But decided not to go with it.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PANCAKES:

Recipe Courtesy: BAKERELLA's Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Basic Pancake Recipe of mine: Pancakes for Sunday Breakfast

Ingredients:
Pancakes:
All purpose flour: 1 1/3 cup
Vanilla Extract: 1 tsp
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Egg: 1
Butter: 3 tbsp(melted)
Chocolate Chips(Mini):
Baking Powder: 2 tsp
Cocoa Powder:
Milk: 1 1/4 cup
Non Stick Cooking Spray

Chocolate Sauce:
Heavy Cream: 3/4 cup
Chocolate Morsels: 1 cup
Butter: 1 tbsp

Procedure:

Whisk the dry ingredients and then add the wet ingredients slowly. The batter will be lumpy. Do not over mix. Add in the chocolate chips or morsels.

Heat a non stick pan or griddle and grease it with non stick cooking spray.

Use a ladle or a measuring cup(1/4 cup) to ladle out the batter so that all the pancakes are similar in size.

When bubbles start to appear on the surface, its time to flip. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes and then take off heat.

For the chocolate sauce, heat the cream and butter together,just before they boil. Turn off heat and transfer the warm mixture over the chocolate chips. Whisk it together so that the warm cream and butter melt the chocolate.Let it congeal to a thick sauce before you serve it. You could also make it a day in advance.

Serve the pancakes warm with the chocolate sauce.

Bon Appetit !!!

I have been craving for Pancakes for some time now. No, I am not pregnant. Even non pregnant women can have strong cravings. With some fresh fruit on the side, its the perfect Breakfast recipe for me. I would not even mind a helping of eggs on the side, if I wanted to turn it into Brunch. Some OJ to wash it all down. Perfect !!

We had a super awesome packed weekend,which come with its share of Fatigue. It began off with an impromptu play date for my daughter, which also gave Mommies the excuse to chill out on the couch a lil longer and catch up on what's been happening at our respective fronts.And Mommy's friend came bearing gifts. Awesome gifts !! Holi at the Hindu Temple the next day, followed by a desi party at night. Sunday came with Day Light Saving and the need for some comfort food.

Whats more comfort food for Sunday than starting the day with a stack of Pancakes. We knew we could not go wrong with it. I needed dig in to something soft and fluffy and douse in loads of syrup. Our Toddler just loves them, but she prefers hers with a dash of Nutella. Daddy likes his with some warm butter. We all have our preferences, but we were on the same page,as to what had to be on our plates that morning. We could even stretch it to brunch if we added bacon, fruits and some Milk Shake on the side. Old School but classic.

My friend Angie makes the most perfect pancakes that I have ever sunk my teeth into. The ease with which she makes them, is just great. But I could possibly not go over to her house(which is practically just 10 yards from ours) and beg for some pancakes. So went ahead to make a batch from scratch. One thing which Angie always points out is that, if the ingredients, like eggs and milk are at room temperature, they make for better pancakes. Roger that !

We had no pancake mix at home. Which was obviously better as it was another meal where we could avoid over processed food. Yes there are times when my mind gets thinking about all that jazz. But you always feel when you are making things from scratch(read when you are sleepy),that they come off well. Anything which involves a dash of Baking powder is sheer Chemistry for me. Chemistry was never a favorite of mine from High School. So when in doubt, reach out for the experts. No shame in that. Everyone needs some guidance when they are battling fatigue from an over worked week and super tiring weekend.

So dragged myself into the kitchen while Baby and Daddy were still asleep in their respective rooms. In no time had our stack ready. Out came the toppings. Sunday breakfast was fun.

The Pancakes came out super fluffy and soft. The best part was the proportions of the recipe were just perfect for our family of three. While Pancake batter can be stored in the refrigerator, I was glad that we didn't have to store any. We could whip up some more whenever we needed some next time.