Yield: 8 pancakes

If you follow this blog, you know by now that I love the occasional stack of pancakes on weekend mornings, and that I also love to translate some of my favorite dessert cakes–carrot, red velvet, gingerbread, pineapple upside-down–into their breakfast cousins. These scrumptious coconut ones are my latest iteration. I’m so glad I had coconut left over from a curry dinner. The only thing better would be if my Papa were here to grate a fresh coconut for me!

Like many people, I am a fan of vegan cream cheese frosting on coconut cake, so I top the pancakes with a syrup into which I incorporate vegan sour cream and a hint of lemon juice in order to capture some of that irresistible tang in a form that is easy to blend.

½ cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup self-rising flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup unsweetened soy milk (plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite; I chose soy milk over coconut milk because of the former’s thicker body)
1/2 cup flaked coconut (fresh or packaged–sweetened or unsweetened)
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Coconut Sour Cream-Maple Syrup (recipe follows)
Optional Garnish: additional flaked coconut (fresh or packaged, sweetened or unsweetened, raw or toasted)

Preheat oven to warm. In a medium mixing bowl, place first 5 ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in soy milk. Stir together with a fork until well combined. Stir in coconut. 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 a couple of minutes on the first side until you get a nice rise and the edges appear set. (These pancakes will not develop many bubbles to indicate doneness.) 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. Serve warm with Vegan Coconut Sour Cream-Maple Syrup and a sprinkling of coconut or toasted coconut if desired.

Vegan Coconut Sour Cream-Maple Syrup:
4 tablespoon vegan sour cream
4 tablespoons pure maple syrup
4 tablespoons coconut or lite coconut milk (unsweetened, plain or vanilla soy milk would also be good–regular or lite)
4 tablespoons flaked coconut (fresh or packaged–sweetened or unsweetened
2 squirts of lemon juice (or to taste in order to bring out tang of vegan sour cream)

Whisk together and, if desired, heat gently in microwave for a few seconds. Note: you can make as much syrup as you like; just whisk together equal parts of first 4 ingredients and adjust lemon juice accordingly.