Why You’ll Love These Chocolate Pancakes
Rich chocolatey taste. While many recipes stir in the cocoa with the flour and other dry ingredients, we’ll bloom the cocoa with hot water and melted butter. This makes a big difference in the flavor. Easy to make! Simply whisk together the dry ingredients, then gently stir in the wet. There’s no mixer required (and please, don’t use one!). Thick and fluffy texture, just like my buttermilk pancakes. Perfect for birthday breakfasts, Valentine’s day, or any other day you need a fun, chocolatey boost to start your morning!
Getting a distinct chocolate flavor here was tricky, since cocoa powder can be very drying. I wanted fluffy, perfectly moist pancakes that still had a rich chocolate taste. To accomplish this, we bloom the cocoa in hot water and add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter. This combination gives us a good chocolate flavor in every bite.
What You Need
If making chocolate pancakes wasn’t on your agenda today, don’t panic! You should have all of these ingredients on hand already 😊
Brown sugar. Either light or dark brown sugar will work, though dark will have a stronger molasses flavor. I typically use light brown sugar. Cocoa powder. I stick with natural cocoa powder here, as Dutch process cocoa felt a bit too dark for this recipe. Hot water. This will help bloom your cocoa powder and enhance its flavor. Make sure your water is nice and hot–either steaming or boiling! Buttermilk. I recommend using real buttermilk here over my buttermilk substitute. While you can use that in a pinch, it is thinner than traditional buttermilk so you will need to use less of it to keep the batter at the proper thickness (somewhere between ¾ cup and a scant cup). Chocolate chips. I prefer mini chocolate chips in my pancakes, but you can use regular sized chips if that’s all you have on hand, or if you prefer a bigger punch of chocolate. You can add up to another ½ cup chocolate chips if you really like chocolate, or you can leave them out entirely (though your chocolate pancakes won’t be quite as flavorful this way!).
SAM’S TIP: Like most of my pancake recipes, this recipe benefits from room temperature ingredients. These combine easier than chilled, fresh-from-the-fridge ingredients. So if you can, try to set your eggs and buttermilk out ahead of time. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Pancakes
SAM’S TIP: When making pancakes it’s very important to not over-mix your batter. Over-mixing will yield pancakes that are dense, rubbery, and flat, so be gentle! This is why I add the chocolate chips when my ingredients are 50% combined instead of after they are already combined.
What to serve with chocolate pancakes
Top with chocolate whipped cream or homemade whipped cream Drizzle peanut butter, fudge sauce, Nutella, or caramel sauce over the top. If you really want to get decadent and intensely chocolatey, pour some warm ganache or chocolate gravy overtop. Add fruity toppings like fresh raspberries, macerated strawberries, sliced bananas, strawberry sauce, or raspberry sauce Serve with savory sides like cheesy hash brown casserole, scrambled eggs, sausage, or bacon
Enjoy! Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
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