Yield: 8 pancakes
Our weather has been absolutely schizophrenic this spring. One day, it’s chilly, damp and windy and the very next its 88 degrees with brilliantly blue skies. Consequently, my meals have been similarly varied. Sunday morning was, though sunny, quite windy and cool. Perfect for a last wintry breakfast hurrah.
If you follow this blog, you know that I make weekend pancakes a lot and that I stir into the batter all kinds of ingredients and top them with a variety of special syrups. But I never fill them. That is until I now. They seemed to cry out for a simple vegan cream cheese and apricot preserve filling. And after tasting the end result, I see why. Boy, oh boy, are you in for a treat. In this case, I recommend plain maple syrup to perfectly complement the pancakes and their filling, but not compete. I made an apricot-maple syrup that I wasn’t wild about, so save yourself the trouble and the disappointment. They are much better–delicious in fact–without it.
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup self-rising flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk (plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite)
1/2 teaspoon real almond extract or to taste
1 cup finely diced plump dried apricots (they should be nice and moist even though technically “dried”)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Cream Cheese
Apricot Preserves (buy the most wholesome brand you can find with as few additives as possible)
Maple Syrup
Optional Garnishes: a whole or half dried apricot and a sprinkle of sliced almonds per serving
Preheat oven to warm. In a medium mixing bowl, place first 5 dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in soymilk and almond extract. Whisk together until well combined. Then stir in diced apricots and sliced almonds with a spoon or fork. In a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter, oil or a combination. (I like a combination: the oil reduces chances of burning while the butter contributes flavor.) Using a 1/4 cup measure, make pancakes, two at a time. Cook two-three minutes on the first side until you get a nice rise, a few bubbles appear, and the edges appear set. Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the reverse. Add butter and/or oil to keep skillet greased as needed. If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium, especially for second side. When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates or a serving platter, keep warm, and repeat with remaining butter and pancake batter. To serve, spread 4 of the pancakes with about 1 tablespoon of vegan cream cheese. Spread another tablespoon of apricot preserves over that. Top with remaining pancakes and serve warm with maple syrup and a garnish of a whole or half of a dried apricot and a sprinkling of sliced almonds.
