Last thing on my mind when I go to sleep, and first thing on my mind when I wake up: CHOCOLATE!

I always keep telling myself that the dark chocolate that I prefer over the milk and white variant is “healthier”. It’s not entirely true of course, but these chocolate pancakes are definitely guilty pleasures made healthier when not using too much sugar, butter and any other flour than all-purpose flour. I used buckwheat flour as it’s gluten free and I like the extra taste it gives to my baking creations.

CHOCOLATE PANCAKES – +/- 12 pancakes
1⅓ cup buckwheat flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2-3 tsp baking powder
¼ cup (cane) sugar
¼ tsp. salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup milk
1 egg

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together and then add the wet ingredients and continue whisking until combined. Don’t overmix!

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and melt a teaspoon or two of butter just to grease the pan. You don’t want to bake the pancakes in too much butter.

When hot, pour or scoop the batter into the pan, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Cook until pancakes have bubbles on top and the shininess becomes mat (about 2-3 minutes per side) and serve warm. Once you flip them over cooking for an additional minute is often enough.

note: I preferably work with a thicker batter than a runny batter, but if it’s too thick, add a bit of milk to thin (1/4 cup at a time).

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS – Lindt chocolate 85%, Nutella (or any other chocolate paste), honey and/or (maple) syrup. Or use fruits such as strawberries, raspberries and/or bananas.

Enjoy! xoSam