Spread love with vegan Red Velvet Pancakes

By Betsy DiJulio
Correspondent

Celebrate Valentine’s Day this year, red velvet style, with pancakes that tantalize the taste buds as well as treat the eyes.

These pancakes are perfect for a family-friendly breakfast, especially for those who love red velvet as much as I do.

Red velvet cake has been a favorite since childhood and my first taste of Aunt Bessie’s version, with its crimson layers swathed in fluffy white frosting and drizzled with bittersweet chocolate.

As beautiful as it is delicious, red velvet was my choice as the groom’s cake when Joe and I wed, and I made an especially baroque one as a wedding cake for friends.

Over the years, I’ve created red velvet versions of a variety of baked goods. I even won a Better Homes & Gardens reci-pe contest with my red velvet cookies.

For the Red Velvet Pancakes, I searched online and found a number of nonvegan iterations, but none was a good starting place.

So I turned to my own go-to pancake formula, complete with some whole-grain goodness, and added the key red velvet ingredients.

After a couple of adjustments, they were ready to serve. And, boy, did I devour them, going through all four used for the photo shoot.

They are the exact shade of deep red that any self-respecting thing calling itself “red velvet” ought to be. The taste comes with a slight tanginess and an almost imperceptible, yet undeniable, hint of cocoa.

There is more sugar in this recipe than in most of my pancakes, but it is needed to balance the tartness of the vegan “buttermilk” and the appealing bitterness of the cocoa powder.

Try the pancakes with  my Vegan “Sausage” and Red Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Heart Tarts.

You can find those recipes on my blog at www.thebloomingplatter.blogspot.com.

------------------------------

Vegan Red Velvet Valentine’s Pancakes
Yield: 8 pancakes
1½ cups minus 1½ tablespoons unsweetened soy milk (or plain, vanilla or lite soy milk)
1½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
½ cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
½ to 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 1-ounce bottle (2 tablespoons) red food coloring
Vegan butter or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Sour Cream-Maple Syrup (recipe follows)
Optional garnish: vegan sour cream, orange zest, vegan chocolate chips
Preheat oven to warm.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle.

In a medium mixing bowl, place wheat flour, self-rising flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Make a well in the center, and pour in soy milk mixture and food coloring. Combine well with a fork.

In a large cast-iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of vegan butter, oil or a combination. Pour ¹/³ cup of the batter onto the hot skillet or griddle. Make one at a time, as batter tends to spread.

Cook for a couple of minutes on the first side until quite a few bubbles appear and the edges look set. Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the other side.

Add butter or oil as needed . If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium .

When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates , keep warm in the oven and repeat with remaining batter.

Note: To cook two  at a time, use ¼ cup of batter for each.

Serve warm with Vegan Sour Cream-Maple Syrup and a dollop of vegan sour cream. Garnish with orange zest and  a few vegan chocolate chips.

Vegan Sour Cream Maple Syrup
4 to 6 tablespoons vegan sour cream
4 to 6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
A squirt of lemon juice (optional)

Whisk sour cream, maple syrup and lemon juice 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 vegan sour cream and syrup and adjust lemon juice accordingly.