Brunch Diaries: Double Chocolate Pancake Recipe

Although brunching at restaurants around the city is one of my absolute fave things to do, some weekends I just don’t have the patience to wait two hours for food. On those occasions, hubster and I create our own feast at home. It’s a collaborative effort and something I always look forward to — it actually makes for a really nice bonding sesh (way better than staring at people’s plates with hangry eyes through the window). Given we both have a sweet tooth, pancakes are a common brunch item at our casa. We’ve tried everything from sweet potato to the buckwheat variety, but I haven’t shared a recipe with you guys yet because I hadn’t found the one. Well, things recently changed at a Canola Eat Well culinary workshop hosted by Chef Matt Dean Pettit…

One bite of his double chocolate pancakes and I was blown away. Not-too-sweet, moist and topped with a glorious mound of mint whipped cream, they were the dreamiest pancakes I’ve had in a long time. I mean, just look at these babies…

Noticeably different: the pancakes weren’t super fluffy. Curious as always, I asked why…

“Truthfully, if you’re doing brunch and still want to eat healthy-ish, don’t go crazy and weigh yourself down with thick pancakes. I like to use canola oil in my recipe so they turn out thinner — more like a flapjack.” – Matt Dean Pettit, Chef & CEO Matty’s Seafood Brands

 Aha! Good ol’ canola oil is his secret ingredient, something you’ll always find in my kitchen. Why? It’s…

1. Healthy: canola oil has the lowest amount of saturated fat of any leading oil at the grocery store, contains no trans fat or cholesterol, is a source of omega-6 (important for brain development), high in omega-3 fat (helps protect against heart attacks and strokes) AND is high in monounsaturated fats (which reduce the risk of coronary heart disease).

2. Versatile: canola oil has a very mild/neutral flavour so it allows other ingredients to shine.

3. Local: canola oil is grown right here in Canada – woot! Yup, more than 43,000 family farmers grow canola in the Canadian Prairies. Dedicated, inspiring and hard-working farmers like Curtis McRae (far right)…

Ok, back to Chef Pettit’s heavenly pancakes. So many of you asked for the recipe when I shared photos and vids on social media that I just had to track it down. Here it is friends, here it is…

Double Chocolate Pancake Recipe

Makes 12 Pancakes

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup all-purpose flour

• 3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 2 tsp. baking powder

• ¼ cup sugar

• ¼ tsp. salt

• 2 tbsp. canola oil for the batter & 1 tbsp to cook pancakes 

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 1¼ cup milk

• 1 egg

• ½ cup chocolate chips 

• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream

• ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped

• powdered sugar, garnish

Method

In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and whisk until combined. Keep the batter lumpy and do not overwork.

In a large saucepan over medium heat add 1 tsp of canola oil to heat pan.

For even pancakes use a ¼-cup measuring cup to scoop batter onto hot pan. Cook until pancakes have bubbles on the top, flip over and cook for an additional minute. Repeat until done, cover and keep warm.

Serve warm with mint whipping cream and powdered sugar! 

A huge thanks to Canola Eat Well for hosting the delicious workshop and for sponsoring this post. As always, reviews and opinions are my own. These pancakes are honestly ahhhmaze — I feel this photo captures how I feel about them…