Chocolate Pancakes with Homemade Strawberry Syrup

I had made a mention in one of my last posts of a weekend recipe creation of mine which was exquisitely created for my darling daughter Izzy. Well this was it! She is a fan of strawberries and I wanted to make her feel extra special on our weekend alone together!

Since strawberries are still largely available across the country before the supremely hot summer days kick in, and I had a good batch at hand, I decided to make this one for Saturday morning. So this was also kind of our Mother- Daughter Women's Day Celebration:)!

Chocolate Pancakes with Homemade Strawberry Syrup

You need:

• 1 cup of plain flour or all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of cocoa powder
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 4 tbsp of sugar/honey
• 1 egg or 1 cup of yoghurt (you can also use 1 mashed banana but I didn't as I wanted it to be all about the Chocolate and Strawberries although banana and chocolate is a good blend)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 2 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup milk or filtered water

The make
Makes 5 pancakes | Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes | Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

2. Whisk in the egg, oil and milk/water and set aside for another 5 minutes. Then whisk in the butter.

Whipped up pancake batter and chopped strawberries

3. Heat a iron skillet or non-stick skillet on high. Grease the pan with a dabbed kitchen paper towel in oil. Use the same greasing process in between making pancakes.




4. Using a ladle, pour in 1/4 cup quantity of pancake batter in the center of the skillet and spread to medium circle.



 5. Repeat till entire batter is used.  Serve hot!

Pancakes with Strawberry Syrup on the side

Homemade Strawberry Syrup

You need:

• 10-12 strawberries
• 4-6 tbsp of sugar
• 110 ml of filtered water

The make:
Makes 100 ml of syrup | Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Cooking Time: 10 mins

Top view of Strawberry Syrup

1. Chop the strawberries and set aside at least 2 strawberries (chopped).


2. Add the sugar to the water and stir on a medium high flame till sugar is dissolves and starts to thicken.


3. Add the chopped strawberries and stir in for 2-3 minutes.


4. Turn the strawberry syrup to the refrigerate for 10 minutes along with the chopped strawberries set aside earlier.

Homemade Strawberry syrup

5. Top the hot pancakes with the chopped strawberries and strawberry syrup!

You can also top with whip cream, nuts, fruits or choc chips!

I assure you that your little ones would love this make...treat your kids with these pancakes and syrup as a reward or just for being themselves:)

Bon Appetit!

Papaya pies and Papaya Pancakes

I hope my readers are enjoying my Breakfast creations as much as I am enjoying creating them. I know that after the initial requests for Breakfast week, it continued into the second week as well. Seriously I am considering continuing for another week simply because I am so enjoying creating these breakfast creations. I still have a couple more to post however I just cannot stop creating new ones. I just made one this morning, finger licking good and kids will so enjoy it as well. Plus, each of these recipes are so nutritious and filling that your energy lasts till afternoon.

PapayaPies

My lil one has been learning about fruits and food types in school. Papaya has been a fancy for her in its imagery and seeds. She does not like to eat it as is but this recipe was enjoyed by her esp. the pancake.

Papaya Pancakes

Now for the pies, I had to add extra ingredients but the base mix was just the same. Papaya by itself is rich in  provitamin A carotenoids, vitamin C, B vitamins, dietary minerals and dietary fibre. I cannot reinstate how important it is to have a breakfast rich in dietary fibre. Kick starts your entire day;-)



*You need:

I have the whole Papaya in my hand:)

• 1 medium sized ripened papaya, chopped into small pieces
• 2 cups all-purpose flour or plain flour or whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp sugar or honey
• A pinch of cinnamon powder
• 1 cup milk (if slim milk, then use 2 cups)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil 
• 1 tbsp butter (room temperature)
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• 1/2 cup yoghurt or 1 mashed banana or 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp cooking oil for dipping (take in a small bowl)
• 1 tbsp powdered or split flax seeds or blanched and finely diced almonds or other nuts (*Optional - adds crunch)

The make:

Makes 10 pancakes | Cooking Time: 20 minutes | Preparation Time: 15 minutes

1. Puree the papaya. You can also opt to cut it into thin slices.
2.  Mash banana if you are using banana or whisk eggs if you are using eggs or else skip this step.
3. Combine dry ingredients and mix slightly and allow to stand for 10 minutes.
4. Add the papaya puree to the mix with the milk, oil, water,vanilla and yoghurt or banana or eggs.
5. Whisk together until just combined. Do not over mix as it has to be slightly thick and lumpy. Set aside to rest for 5 minutes.
6. Add butter to the mix after resting period and give it a good stir. Meanwhile heat an iron skillet or dosa pan or non-stick skillet on high heat until hot.
7. Lower the heat to medium-high and with a oil - dipped kitchen paper towel, rub the surface of the skillet from middle to slightly outer ring of the skillet.
8.  Stir the batter mix. Then take a 1/2 cup quantity of batter in a ladle and pour it in the center of the skillet and in a circular fashion, spread the batter to the outer ring of the skillet.

Closeup of my papaya pancake batter

9. Cook the pancake for 2 minutes on each side or until bubbles appear on the surface of the first side. Since    I had added ripened papaya and sugar to the mix, I had a darker appearance of the surface of the pancake.  It was not in the least bit burnt just darkened because of the fruit factor with sugar.
10. Serve hot as is or with coconut cream, chocolate sauce or sour cream.

Papaya Pancakes

Now for the Papaya Pies, I added

You need:
The above ingredients *

• 1/2 cup more of flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 3 tbsp of butter at room temperature
• A pinch of nutmeg (optional)
• Sour cream (couple of tbsp)
• Almonds - a few

The make:
Makes 10-12 pies | Cooking Time: 20-30 minutes | Preparation Time: 10 minutes

You can also just use the above batter to make as many pancakes as you like and use the remaining batter with the pie ingredients to make 8-10 pies. In my case I made 7-8 pancakes and then used the remaining ingredients with the pie ingredients to make 8 pies.

1. Either add the pie ingredients to the pancake ingredients as described in the method to make only pies or use the remaining batter of pancake and add in all the above ingredients, except the sour cream and almonds. and whisk well. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
2. Next into a muffin cake tray, pour 3/4 of each pocket with the batter mix and set into a preheated oven of 160°C and cook until golden brown on top or until cooked (check with a skewer). It would normally take 20-30 minutes in an oven of 170-180°C.

Undressed Pumpkin Pies

3. Once cooled, transfer the pies onto a wire rack and top with sour cream and blanched split almonds or whole almonds.

Papaya Pies

Bon Appetit!