Chocolate Pancakes with Apple Sauce

Name: Chocolate Pancakes with Apple Sauce
Ingredients: 200-250 g flour; 250 ml milk; 50 g chocolate (I used 56%); 40 g sugar; 20 g butter; 1 egg; 2 tsp baking powder; 0.5 tsp salt; 1 large apple; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1-2 tbsp sugar; 0.5 tsp starch; zest of half a lemon

With Maslenitsa just around the corner, I'm rushing to share this pancake recipe with you. I've mentioned before that I'm not a fan of Russian-style oladyi, but I absolutely love pancakes. Pancakes are an American take on the small skillet cake — the key difference from the regular kind is that they're cooked on a completely dry pan. Pancakes are made with milk, just like crepes. In essence, they're similar to crepes, but the batter is much thicker, and they're cooked into plump, fluffy rounds. What I especially love about this is that pancakes come together so much faster than crepes (no need to fry a mountain of thin ones that get eaten faster than you can make them :) I hope I've convinced you that pancakes are totally worth it! Classic pancakes I've already made before — today I went with chocolate, and paired them with an apple sauce to turn these pancakes into a true gourmet treat!

Ingredients:

200-250 g flour
250 ml milk
50 g chocolate (I used 56%)
40 g sugar
20 g butter
1 egg
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
Apple sauce (optional):
1 large apple
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp sugar
0.5 tsp starch
zest of half a lemon

How to cook chocolate pancakes with apple sauce

Make the sauce. Peel the apple and dice it into very small cubes. Place in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the sugar, lemon zest (yellow part only), and lemon juice.

Cook over low heat until the apples are soft. Dissolve the starch in a tablespoon of water, pour it into the apples, stir, and cook until thickened. Let the finished sauce cool.

Make the pancakes. Break the chocolate into pieces and place in the bowl you'll be mixing the batter in. Add the cubed butter to the same bowl.

Melt in the microwave until smooth (heat for 10–20 seconds, stir well, heat again, and so on).

Let cool slightly, then add the egg and stir to combine.

Add the sugar, salt, and about a third of the milk, and mix well.

Pour in the remaining milk and stir to combine. Add the flour mixed with the baking powder and stir until you have a smooth batter.

The batter should be thick — similar to drop biscuit batter, or even a little thicker. Add more flour if needed.

Before the first pancake, you can lightly grease the pan with just about a quarter teaspoon of butter using a pastry brush — after that, you won't need to grease it again. That said, if you have a good pan, even this step may not be necessary. Using a spoon, drop the batter onto a preheated pan and cook over medium heat until characteristic bubbles appear on the surface.

Then flip and cook on the other side. This amount of batter makes about 10–12 pancakes, depending on their size.

These pancakes have a slightly firm crust and an incredibly tender, soft center!

You can serve pancakes with just about anything — maple syrup, jam, honey, or fresh fruit. I served these chocolate pancakes with sour cream and apple sauce, which is an absolutely winning combination!