Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Maple Topping
Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Maple Topping
Where have you been all my life? I’ve tasted a lot of different kinds of pancakes and love them all but I’ve never thought about eating carrot cake as a pancake? Or is it the other way around? Either way these pancakes are to die for. And the rest of my family thinks so too!
We had such a fun weekend recently with most of the family gathered for a much needed break. We rode bikes on the Boise Greenbelt, played epic matches of pickle ball, celebrated my birthday along with my twin brother who was visiting from Arizona, watched BYU get beat by BSU in a down-to-the-wire game and ate a lot of really good food like these incredible pancakes. It’s a great Cooking Light recipe with some modifications like a switch to whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose and the use of coconut oil instead of canola oil. I also add a little baking soda to name a few of the changes. The batter is thick, not runny so each pancake requires a little spreading with a spatula to get them even, but cook up bubbly like typical pancakes.
Of course they take a little extra time to make compared to pancake mix and water, but the effort is so worth it. Please take my word for it and make these today! Plus the batter stores well over night. The top turns a little brown, but stirs right in and day two pancakes are as delicious as day one pancakes. I love the mounds of carrot called for, that’s two whole cups of finely grated carrot in a batter that uses only a small amount of added brown sugar. Brown sugar-Splenda can be substituted here to reduced the total carb count if desired. Added fiber from the whole wheat pastry flour and the carrot boost the nutritional goodness.
Now for the topping. These yummy cakes need an equally yummy topping so I simply blend reduced-fat cream cheese and pure maple syrup to create a pretty irresistible add-on if you ask anyone and everyone. For the coup de grace I drizzle a bit of pure maple syrup over top. Couldn’t be any more magical.
One Year Ago: Cranberry-Apple Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Cherry Balsamic Glaze Two Years Ago: Pumpkin Cheesecake Pudding Parfaits
- Carrot Cake Pancakes with Cream Cheese Maple Topping
- 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- Dash of ground cloves
- Dash of ground ginger
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp unrefined coconut oil, melted
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound), loosely packed
- Cooking Spray
- Pure maple syrup
- 4 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cloves and ginger in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine brown sugar, buttermilk, coconut oil, vanilla and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in the carrot.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet and place over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon four (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter. Keep prepared pancakes warm by placing in a heated oven covered with aluminum foil.
- For the Topping: Combine cream cheese and maple syrup in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk.
- Arrange warm pancakes on a platter. Spoon cream cheese topping on each stack of pancakes and drizzle maple syrup over top, if desired.
You might also enjoy:
Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes with Apple Cider Syrup
Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
Carrot Cake Bites with Cream Cheese Frosting
Lindsey
These pancakes look amazing! I am going to have to give them a go because (1)I love carrot cake and (2) that maple topping sounds delicious. You come up with the best recipes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Karen
You’re so sweet Lindsey. I adore these too, plus the batter can be made ahead so the effort is worth the extra time it takes.
Lindsey
Thank you!(: I totally love it when you can make the batter ahead of time. These pancakes are worth any extra effort needed. They are so delicious!(: