Thursday, March 27, 2008

a different kind of birthday cake




I love a good stack of pancakes. Usually, it's a weekend treat, but lately, I've been craving them every morning. Because today is my birthday, I've allowed myself to indulge several mornings throughout the past week. This is actually a good thing- no breakfast fills me up or gives me more energy than pancakes. One day, having grown a little tired of the same old same old, I came up with this recipe- these cakes come with a twist: a little savory, with a hint of olive oil and a satisfying texture, they are the perfect combination of pancake and griddle cake. They'd be good for breakfast, brunch, or even dinner with something savory like some potatoes or tempeh bacon on the side. Give them a try- it's my birthday gift to you!

Sweet 'n Savory Griddle Cakes (makes 8-10)
  • 1 TB apple cider vinegar
  • 1 C unsweetened soymilk
  • 1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C cornmeal
  • pinch sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 TB ground flax seeds
  • 1 TB sugar
  • 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • about 1/3 cup orange juice
Mix vinegar and soymilk in a large measuring cup, stir, and allow to rest and curdle while you mix the dry ingredients. Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda well. Add flax meal, sugar, olive oil, and vanilla extract to the soymilk/vinegar mixture and whisk well until mixed. Next, add enough orange juice for the liquid mixture to reach 1.5 cups.

Add liquid to dry mixture and mix gently with a fork or a whisk. Don't overmix, a few small lumps remaining are o.k. If the mixture is too thick, add a splash of water or other liquid to thin out a bit, but not too much- the mixture should still fairly thick.

Pour batter by about 1/3 cup fulls onto lightly greased griddle, and flip when edges are done and the pancakes are a perfect golden-brown color. Serve with your favorite toppings- I went with classic Earth Balance and maple syrup here.

Enjoy!



P.S. It was fun reading some of your guesses after my last post, and I really like Rural Vegan's idea about starting a pool to guess what my surprise announcement is going to be. You guys can keep guessing and whoever comes closest gets a prize from me. I promise I will let you guys all know soon. Cheers!


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37 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday!! Your pancakes look amazing. =)

trina said...

Happy Birthday! I love a good weekend breakfast on a special mid-week day.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

yeah! happy birthday pancakes!!!

laura k said...

Happy birthday! Those look like a delicious treat!

Anardana said...

Happy birthday! I think I'll make those pancakes right now!

Amey said...

Happy Birthday Bazu!!
A week of pancakes... what a great way to celebrate!

:) Amey

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Happy birthday, Bazu!

aTxVegn said...

Happy Birthday, Bazu! Your pancakes are always a thing of beauty.

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORGEOUS! You should be relaxing, not giving us recipes! ;)

Tami said...

Happy Birthday, Bazu! What a wonderful way to start your next year! The pancakes look awesome.. and so are you.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

I am so curious about your news!!!!!


p.s. give me a bite of pancake.

Anonymous said...

Happy (day after your) Birthday! I hope you had a great day!

Courtney

Anonymous said...

Happy (belated) Birthday!!!!

Bridget said...

Damn girl those look good!! I love pancakes and just last weekend I made the sourdough pancakes you posted about. They were delicious!

AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Theresa said...

Happy happy happy birthday!!

Sarah P said...

happy birthday! and thank you for the restaurant advice, by the way. did you go out to one of these places for your b-day?

(if you give me your address I will send you a combination birthday-and-thank-you present!)

Peggy said...

Happy birthday, and awesome pancakes!

Anonymous said...

Haha, how funny is it that we both posted about pancakes on the same day! Either great minds think alike, or there must be something in the water... ;)

Happy birthday!

Esther said...

I'm making these right now and the test pancake came out great!
The sutter-milk (soymilk+vinegar !) + orange juice make them really fluffy with a yummy citrus kick.

Thanks!

Rural Vegan said...

Happy Birthday Bazu!

My second guess is that you're moving somewhere. Or that you're pregnant AND moving somewhere. Or pregnant, moving, AND got an exciting new job. How many guesses do we get? =)

Mary Worrell said...

Happy b-day!

Okay, and now I have another guess to throw out there....you're the next food network star?! Will you model yourself after RayRay?

Crystal said...

Happy Birthday!!! Can't wait for your news :)

-Crystal

Matt and Bobbie said...

these look so good!! I'm hungry for pancakes now!!!

Anonymous said...

I guess that you are moving to NYC and becoming my personal chef. Because that would be awesome.

TB said...

i think you are getting a cookbook deal for vegan iranian food! or you're moving somewhere awesome, like portland...

anna/village vegan said...

Happy birthday!! Those pancakes look SO good. I'll make them next time I have time for pancakes...mmmm.

I'm horrible at guessing, but I'm really curious about your big secret! Umm, you got a tenure-track job somewhere? You're moving somewhere exciting? You're writing a book?

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I love the idea of savory pancakes! They look like a delicious way to celebrate a birthday! And let's see, I will try to make my guess different than the rest...are you getting a dog? I know that would be exciting news for me!

Maggie M. said...

that last pic is definitely food porn... they look so good!

Anonymous said...

Funny coincidence--my other good blog friend, KathyR, had a birthday on the 27th!

I like your idea of pancakes for birthday cake. Yummm!

Animal-Friendly said...

Happy Birthday! Pancakes are the ultimate birthday breakfast food

I'm not even going to bother guessing what the amazing news is since I know I would end up thinking of a million ridiculous possibilities. So for now, congrats on whatever it is!

Anonymous said...

belated happy birthday, and i was craving some pancakes too! thank you for sharing your recipe - i don't have a favorite pancake recipe yet, and i have a feeling that yours will be very nice...

Vegan_Noodle said...

Sorry, for being so late with this.... Happy late birthday! Pancakes are the perfect way to celebrate.
Can't wait to hear your surprise! I was gonna guess that you were preggers but I can I've been beaten to it :-)

Carrie™ said...

Happy Birthday wishes again! I also love pancakes, but they do seem like a treat don't they? My mom tells me that when she was pregnant with me, she craved pancakes like crazy. She made so many pancakes that to this day, my dad doesn't ever want any! The last shot with the maple syrup...Mmmmmm!!

Anonymous said...

Joyeux Anniversaire! I definitely dig your birthday cake, it's one of my favorite "cakes".

Anonymous said...

Happy belated birthday!
And what a lovely idea--birthday pancakes XD I love how you added the flax seeds in the recipe--I've been looking for more ways to incorporate that stuff into my diet, so this is awesome!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Happy belated birthday!! Oh my goodness, what a scrumptious stack of griddle cakes!!

Unilove said...

happy birthday!!!!! :)

i'm guessing you are getting published!