I love carrot cake. It’s my favorite kind of cake. Because it has vegetables and fruit and nuts. And it’s almost healthy. But totally not healthy. A friend of mine brought me a piece of carrot cake yesterday from some specialty bakery. It was such an indulgent treat! It made me want more, but not more…you know what I mean? More of the flavor, but not more of the sugar.
So I did what anyone would do…I made carrot cake-ish pancakes. These are so very perfect for me, because I’m totally obsessed with adding vegetables to everything. Pancakes are the perfect place to add nutrition, lending themselves to grated carrots, zucchini, even beets! Of course, not everyone in my house likes raisins and coconut in their carrot cake, so here’s how we handle that…Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2-1 tsp cinnamon (to your taste)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 heaping cup of finely grated carrots
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbs honey (optional)
- Options: raisins, chopped nuts and/or sweetened shredded coconut
Directions
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients – flour through spices. In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients – buttermilk through honey (if using). Add the wet to the dry and let sit 3 minutes. Spray your pan with oil and then heat over medium low heat. Pour by 1/4 cups into hot pan, then add the optional ingredients according to each person’s preferences and cook until tiny bubbles begin to pop up on the edges of the pancakes. Flip and cook the other side until cooked through, about 2 minutes. Enjoy with or without real maple syrup!
