Playful yummy bakes for modern home bakers
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Chocolate pancakes; two magic words for the best start to your day. I’m not saying this is an everyday kinda breakfast, but as a treat these are gorgeous. Rich and chocolatey and topped with berries, whipped cream, all the major food groups. I’ve also had them with whipped cream, raspberries and a super quick chocolate ganache. So yummy. This is the easiest thing to make; literally melt some chocolate with hot water and you’ve got the quickest ganache ever.
These are a particular favourite of mine. Not only do you get to have chocolate for breakfast but these souffle beautifully when you fry them because you’ve put that little extra effort whisking those eggs nice and fluffy. Yes it’s the morning and sometimes we can’t be bothered, but your future self will thank you big time if you put this bit of effort in for a truly satisfying pay out.
Give these a go; a handful of ingredients and you’re in for a seriously special breakfast or lazy morning brunch with friends.
3 large eggs
90g plain flour
25g cocoa powder (I like to use a really dark rich cocoa powder like Dr Oetker)
1 heaped tsp baking powder
140ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp coffee powder
pinch salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
Blackberries/raspberries
Double cream (to serve)
Quick ganache – optional – add in 80g milk chocolate and approx 50 ml boiling water
Separate the eggs, popping the egg whites in one large bowl and the yolks in another.
Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and coffee powder together.
Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with the eggs. Add in the sugar.
Then gradually add in the milk. It’s best to do this slowly so you don’t get too many lumps. Don’t worry if there are a few in the batter though, this is morning pancakes we’re making, so let’s not be too hard on ourselves.
In the other bowl, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whisk together on a high speed for a few minutes until they form stiff peaks and hold their shape. Fold the egg whites into the chocolate batter. I like to add in about ⅓ of the mixture first quite quickly to loosen the mix and then more gently fold in the rest of the egg whites to help them keep all that lovely air in. You don’t want to beat the mix here, otherwise you’ll lose all the air that you’ve whipped into the eggs and then the pancakes won’t be as fluffy.
Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat. I like to use a smaller gas hob so the heat doesn’t get too intense too fast to cook the pancakes. If you have a high heat the pancakes can brown too quickly before they are ready to flip.
Once you’ve heated the pan for a few minutes use a ¼ cup to spoon out the pancake mix and start cooking in batches.
The pancakes are ready to flip with the edges start to go wrinkly and bubbles start forming on the tops of the pancakes. This takes a few minutes.
Flip the pancake and cook for another minute.
Once all the pancakes are cooked, serve and top with whatever you fancy. I decided to go with berries and a pretty generous blob of whipped cream. If you want to make the speedy ganache, chop the chocolate and add in the water and melt on a high heat in the microwave. Checking every 30 seconds or so. Once the chocolate has completed melted, it’s ready. Check the consistency and add more boiling water as needed to get a nice consistency for drizzling.
Happy Brunching.
If you’re on the hunt for more tasty breakfast ideas, try our Get up and go granola – homemade breakfast ideas or Pumpkin spiced pancakes with orange maple syrup and toasted pecans.
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Sometimes you just want something a little bit different for breakfast or a relaxingly laid back brunch, something that just says treat. These banana and cinnamon baked breakfast doughnuts with orange sugar do all this and more. Light and immensely satisfying, these pillowy vanilla and cinnamon scented doughnuts tick all the boxes, plus baking these make them a much healthier alternative to frying and a heck of a lot simpler to make, so all perfect bonus’ for breakfast. The banana, not only adding to your 5 a day, helps keep these goodies beautifully soft and the orange sugar helps brighten up all the flavours. Great served with fruit, a nice cuppa tea or coffee. Relax and enjoy.
I got the idea for flavoured sugar from Jamie Oliver. Visit his site for more of his recipe inspiration.
250g self rising flour
80g caster sugar
2 large eggs
¼ tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon
2 very ripe bananas (mashed)
2tsp baking powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
150ml milk
Zest of 2 oranges
Approx 100g granulated sugar (for the topping)
Makes 12 baked doughnuts
Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C in fan oven) Gas Mark 7.
Line the 2 doughnut tins with baking spray and leave to one side.
Weigh out the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon) and sift into a large mixing bowl. Then add the caster sugar. Stir to combine then leave to one side.
Mash the bananas with a fork.
Measure the milk into a jug. Crack in the eggs and add the vanilla extract, oil and mashed banana into the liquids. Stir to combine.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry, gradually to avoid lumps. (Don’t worry too much if there are a few lumps, it’s a bit like making muffins, better not to overmix and have a light batter than to have a super smooth consistency and have heavy doughnuts.)
With a teaspoon, fill each mould ½ full (the mixture rises quite a bit).
Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for 7-8 minutes. (It honestly doesn’t take long at all – you just want the mixture to be springy to the touch and just coming away from the sides).
Leave to cool for 5/10 minutes and then using a knife gently go around the outside of each doughnut to loosen and take out of the tin. They should come out easily. Leave on a wire rack to cool.
While they are cooling you can make the orange sugar. Zest the oranges into a bowl and pour in the granulated sugar a little at a time. The consistency you are after is a dry sandy texture. You are essentially dehydrating the orange zest by combining it to the sugar, so add the sugar gradually so you can add more if needed until you get to the right consistency.
Serve the breakfast doughnuts with the orange sugar and some fresh fruit. Enjoy.
Best eaten on the day of baking but will keep in an airtight container for a few days after. You can freeze the doughnuts which will keep for a few months in the freezer. The orange sugar can be stored in an airtight container too and will keep for about a month.
Looking for more breakfast inspiration to start the day off right? Why not try my Cardamom and vanilla baked fruit or my Pumpkin spiced pancakes with orange maple syrup and toasted pecans. Love porridge I’ve got a lovely Mango, coconut and lime porridge – a touch of sunshine to start the day – full of sunshine flavours.
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