Chocolate Pancakes with Blackcurrant & Rose Compote – Random Recipes #25
I love Random Recipes and think Dom of Belleau Kitchen is a genius for coming up with the idea. I’ve been in from the beginning, so it always grieves me when I run out of time and don’t manage to make the challenge. Last month was such a one and I was beginning to panic that this month would turn out the same, but no, I was determined not to miss another month. Dom gave us quite a bit of freedom with this challenge and allowed us to pick our own book, a highly unusual event. I went for my Valentine’s gift from CT (itself a highly unusual occurrence); a chocolate book I have long been lusting after, Chococo chocolate cookbook by Claire Burnet. I closed my eyes and opened the book on a random page, somewhat trepedaciously – you just never quite know what you might be letting yourself in for. Sigh of relief, which then turned to one of excitment: chocolate pancakes platter. I have long wanted to make chocolate pancakes, but somehow have never actually managed it. Fortuitously, I also had a tub of blackcurrants which were in desperate need of using up. My mother’s freezer, not so fortuitously and very upsettingly, packed up unexpectedly. She ended up having to throw most of the food away. By the time we received the currants, they had been out of the freezer some time. So instead of making the cherry compote denoted in the recipe, I made blackcurrant and rose compote instead.
This is how I made:
Chocolate Pancakes with Rose, Mint and Blackcurrant Compote
- Sieved 150g wholemeal flour into a bowl with a scant tsp of baking powder and 30g cocoa powder.
- Stirred in 2 tbsp vanilla (caster) sugar.
- Made a well in the centre and broke in an egg.
- Started to mix from the middle outwards, adding 175 ml milk a little at a time.
- Beat in 20g hazelnut oil (instead of melted butter).
- Left to rest for about 20 minutes whilst I got on with the other things.
- Dry fried a large tbsp of flaked almonds with 1/2 a tsp of icing powder until they were lightly browned and slightly caramelised.
- Turned into a little serving dish.
- Poured the blackcurrants into a pan.
- Didn’t add any sugar as this had already been done.
- Added the last of my rose syrup (about 2 tbsp) which also really needed using up.
- Simmered for a few minutes, then added 2 tbsp mint vodka.
- Simmered for another couple of minutes.
- Heated a frying pan over a medium heat and added a slither of butter.
- Placed a heaped tbsp of pancake mixture into the pan, spreading it out with the spoon to form a circle of about 10 cm.
- Left for a few minutes until bubbles started to appear in the pancake.
- Turned it over and cooked for a couple more minutes.
- Placed on a plate and put into a warm oven.
- Repeated the process making six pancakes in total.
- Assembled the pancakes by layering them with a tbsp of blackcurrant compote and then another pancake.
- Stacked them three pancakes high finishing with a layer of blackcurrants.
- Topped with the almonds and dusted with a little icing sugar.
Random Recipes – the choice is yours. My choice was Chococo.
Kate of Turquoise Lemons has given us Preserves for her monthly No Food Waste Challenge. Blackcurrants preserved from the summer, mint vodka and rose syrup I made back along in need of using up,
Teatime Treats hosted alternately by What Kate Baked and Lavender and Lovage is puddings this month – well I can tell you these chocolate pancakes makes a very nice pudding indeed.
The freezer disaster also makes these pancakes eligible for Credit Crunch Munch I reckon along with the homemade rose syrup and mint vodka. A monthly challenge hosted by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours.
As these are American style pancakes, I’m entering them into Bloggers Around the World hosted by Chris of Cooking Around the World. The country of choice this month is USA.
Laura
25th February 2013 at 7:20 pmMmm – these sound lovely.
Choclette
26th February 2013 at 6:49 amThank you Laura – I’m sort of wishing I had a stack of them read for breakfast this morning.
Camilla @FabFood4All
25th February 2013 at 10:12 pmWow, what cornucopia of flavours going on here and mint vodka sounds divine. I’m sure the sharpness of the fruit & vodka were the perfect companion to the chocolate and rose flavours, thank you for such a lush entry to Credit Crunch Munch:-)
Choclette
26th February 2013 at 6:51 amThanks Camilla. It’s true there were a lot of flavours, but apart from the hazelnut, they all worked together remarkably well.
celia
25th February 2013 at 10:21 pmThat looks ridiculously decadent, Choc! I love how fat the pancakes are! 🙂
Choclette
26th February 2013 at 6:53 amHaha Celia, you should know I like a bit of decadence by now 🙂 Those pancakes were fat, a bit like scotch pancakes or even American ones.
Katie
26th February 2013 at 6:44 amThat looks one georgously tall pancke tower of deliciousness! The flavours sound amazing too
Choclette
26th February 2013 at 6:55 amThank you Katie. there is something about piling pancakes up that makes them seem more decadent somehow than just eating them one by one.
belleau kitchen
26th February 2013 at 8:06 amoh my good lord will you LOOK at that glorious stack of pancakes… I’m not sure wether to lick the screen or scream with jealously that I don’t have them on my kitchen table for breakfast… sod that, i’m gong to make them now!!!!!!!!!! an AMAZING pick for random recipes and you know I always love it when you’re playing along, it feels a little empty without you C xxx
Choclette
27th February 2013 at 9:26 pmAwwwww 🙂
Jean
26th February 2013 at 11:50 amWow, that looks amazing and I bet it tasted fabulous. You made a really posh pudding from the the humble pancake !!
Choclette
28th February 2013 at 9:09 pmThank you Jean, I love it when my food gets described as posh – I’m such a slap dash cook really 🙂
Kate@whatkatebaked
26th February 2013 at 4:33 pmNow that is one amazing way to celebrate all things pancakey! What a glorious pudding and a lovely sounding book as well- look forward to reading lots more of your baking from the book!
Choclette
28th February 2013 at 9:11 pmNow if only Valentines Day had come before pancake day, I’d have been able to make these. But pancakes are such a delight, why limit them to one day a year?
Nazima FranglaisKitchen
26th February 2013 at 4:38 pmgorgeous recipe and a great idea. I find the end of the month rushes up on me and I never get into all the challenges I want so I know what you mean about feeling bad to miss one.
Still a great recipe here .
Choclette
28th February 2013 at 9:13 pmThanks Nazima, this month has disappeared even faster than usual. I didn’t manage everything I wanted to enter, but I didn’t do too badly all things considered.
Chocolate Shavings
27th February 2013 at 2:46 amI could go for a plateful of these at any time of day!
Choclette
28th February 2013 at 9:13 pmTrouble is, I think I could too 😉
Anita-Clare Field
27th February 2013 at 4:09 amNow I am not a massive fan of chocolate, but these look simply delish.
Choclette
28th February 2013 at 9:15 pmAnita-Clare, I am shocked and horrified at this admission – how can that be?
Kate - Turquoise Lemons
1st March 2013 at 11:39 pmThese look absolutely divine, and what a combination of flavours! Thank you for joining in the No Waste Food Challenge.
Choclette
2nd March 2013 at 7:23 amThanks Kate. Rose syrup has been a great discovery, it goes really well with most fruit.
Suzanne
2nd March 2013 at 9:42 pmOh my word – why has the chocolate/pancake combination never occurred to me before I saw this? Perfection!
Christian Halfmann
5th March 2013 at 4:54 pmThat looks gorgeous. I understand why restraint is so difficult. After all, there are so many lovely ingredients in it. Rose syrup? Very intriguing! Great you are sharing them with the world.