Cooking Through "The Baker's Man": Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Most people have Saturday rituals, such as two cups of coffee before breakfast, reading the newspaper at the table, or sitting on the back porch watching cardinals.

I like to sleep past 6:00 a.m. (what a rebel!), think about what I’m going to eat for breakfast, and relish being a rebel who sleeps past 6:00 a.m.

Others like to rush to Bea’s Bakery on Saturdays because it’s a chocolate lover’s fest. If I lived in Mystic Water, this is exactly what I’d do on Saturdays. I’d probably find a corner booth by the window and people watch while stuffing my face full of sweets.

“Saturdays meant a hodgepodge of chocolate treats—chocolate peppermint cocoa, chocolate flavored coffees, éclairs, tarts, turtles, truffles, cookies, fudge, and mini cakes. Chocoholics came in on Saturdays just to indulge.” (The Baker’s Man, p. 79)

I’ve heard that a case of the lonelys can be cured by eating a stack of double chocolate chip pancakes. I’ll have two orders please, thank you very much.

Double Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Serves: 10 pancakes

Level of Difficulty: easy as eating two pancakes in less than a minute

Ingredients

For pancakes:

1⅓ c all-purpose flour

3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

¼ c sugar

¼ tsp salt

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1¼ c unsweetened almond milk

½ c dark chocolate almond milk

1 egg

½ c miniature semisweet chocolate morsels

For chocolate sauce:

¾ c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp butter

1 c miniature semisweet chocolate morsels

How to Make

For the pancakes:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk dry ingredients together.
2. Add wet ingredients and whisk until combined. The batter will be lumpy.
3. Stir in miniature chocolate morsels.
4. Heat griddle over medium heat, and lightly grease surface with butter.
5. Use a ¼-cup measuring cup to scoop batter onto griddle to ensure similar size pancakes. Cook until pancakes have bubbles on the top, and then flip them over and cook for an additional minute. Repeat with the remaining batter.
6. Serve warm.

For the chocolate sauce:

1. Heat heavy cream and butter in a small saucepan until just on the cusp of boiling, stirring frequently.
2. Remove from heat and pour over miniature morsels in a small bowl.
3. Let rest for a minute, and then stir until completely combined.
4. Drizzle over pancakes. Or pour the entire contents of the bowl onto the pancakes. Your choice.

The Baker’s Man can be purchased in paperback or for the Kindle from Amazon and for the NOOK through Barnes & Noble.