Carrot Cake Pancakes

Pancakes for dinner? OKAY! I had recently stumbled upon some beautiful rainbow carrots, and after scouring the internet for recipes, the colorful bunch was destined for soup and pancakes—not to eat at the same time… yuck. The boyfriend and I decided that we would celebrate a Monday with breakfast for dinner. Why? Because it was Monday. Duh. In my opinion, pancakes are so much better as a fun dinner than boring ol’ breakfast!

And to be honest, folks, as much as I am looking forward to the carrot and coconut soup (and it’s still cold and rainy here in WA so it’s completely acceptable), these carrot cake pancakes had me giddy with excitement!

When I was a small squib of a thing, my family and I drove from Arizona to Canada for a family reunion. One of the most memorable parts of that trip (other than the crazy-long drive in a minivan with my parents, my grandmother, and my 3 older sisters–yikes, amiright?) was THE carrot cake. Stay with me for a second; I’ll explain.

At one of the many family gatherings, sitting amongst the food on the banquet table was this stupidly delicious-looking cake adorned with a carrot made out of frosting. I ate 3 pieces. And I wanted nothing to do with any of the other food (I’m sure my parents loved that). From then on, carrot cake has been one of my all-time favorite desserts.

I stumbled upon a great recipe by Cara at Fork and Beans for carrot cake pancakes. Mmmm, yes please! I changed the recipe up a bit to make the pancakes a bit more naturally-sweetened. My intention was to use only dates to sweeten these puppies, but after mixing the batter up, they were definitely not sweet enough for my liking! Hence the addition of the agave. When I remake these (as I know that I will… heck, maybe this week!), I think I’ll double the dates and see where that gets me. Give it a shot!

The pancakes are a perfect blend of carrots, spices, and sweetness to make a similar flavor to carrot cake. Covered in maple syrup, they are unstoppable!

Carrot Cake Pancakes
Prep time: 15 minutes         Cook time: 10 minutes
Makes a dozen pancakes

Ingredients:

• 3 pitted dates, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes and blended into small pieces
• 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp flax meal
• 2.5 Tbsp warm water
• 1 cup un-sweetened almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Coconut Butter)
• 2 Tbsp agave or maple syrup (add more or less, depending on the desired sweetness of your pancakes—I found that 2 was perfect for a touch of sweetness but not overpoweringly so)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/4 cup gluten-free flour blend
• 3 large carrots—grated

Directions:
Soak the dates in warm water for 10 minutes. In either a blender or food processor, pulse the dates into small pieces.

In a large mixing bowl, prepare your flax egg by combining the flax meal and warm water. Let it set up for 5 minutes. Add all ingredients except for the flour and grated carrots. Mix in the flour, ½ a cup at a time. Stir in the grated carrots.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Scoop about ¼ cup of batter into the pan. Once bubbles begin to form in the batter, flip that sucker over!

This recipe made about a dozen delicious, carrot-y, cinnamon-y pancakes. You’re going to love these!

Proof that the boyfriend loved these pancakes!