Carrot Cake Pancakes

Cake for breakfast? Um...yes please! These pancakes were incredible. I just devoured a bite that was probably twice as big as it should have been, and I may or may not have spooned on more cream cheese topping en route to my mouth.

Though these are carrot cake pancakes, health-wise I'd say they get a gold star. There are a whole lot of beautiful orange carrots, barely any sugar, not too much flour, only one egg, and zero oil or fat in the batter. You do however, have to watch out for the cream cheese topping, which I could eat by itself with a spoon.

Actually, I'll be right back. It's within arms reach, and I need to move it before it disappears.

Done. There, that's better.

Though the topping is incredibly addicting, I think these would also be excellent with plain old maple syrup, but then maybe they'd just be carrot pancakes? Hmm. Either way, make them. I changed the spices a bit from the original recipe. I reduced the nutmeg by half, doubled the ginger, and added a pinch of ground cloves, just cuz. I also didn't add the nuts or raisins, but would like to try it out next time. I was also thinking it would be fun to try and add some pineapple to the batter. If you try it, let me know how it goes!

I was thinking about my mom the whole time I was making these, and how much I think she'd like them. Most years on her birthday, we have carrot cake, as it's one of her favorites. Her birthday is coming up and if I were home, I would totally make these for her, AND a carrot cake. Overboard? I don't think so.

Carrot Cake Pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of ground cloves (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts (optional)

2 tablespoons golden raisins (optional)

1 large egg

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk*

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups finely grated carrots (about 3/4 pound carrots)

Butter for the griddle

Cream cheese topping

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons milk, more if you want it to be thinner

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash of ground cinnamon

Directions

Place a rack in the upper third of your oven, and preheat to 200F. This will keep your pancakes warmed as they're fried in batches.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, spices, and if using, nuts and raisins. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, sugar, buttermilk, and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Add flour mixture to the carrot mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Let rest for five minutes, while you make the cream cheese topping.

To make the cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and lump free. Whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. You may be able to see in the photo, but mine came out ever so slightly lumpy. I have no idea why. This was obviously not an issue.

Over medium heat, melt the butter in a cast iron skillet or a griddle. Spoon 1/8 cup batter into the pan. This may seem like a small amount, but the batter is a bit jiggly, and the smaller pancakes are much easier to cook. Cook pancakes until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to a serving dish or tray, and keep warm in the oven, while repeating the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed.

Serve warm with cream cheese topping. 

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own sour milk by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and it's ready to go!

Recipe Source: seen here, originally from Joy the Baker Cookbook