Recipe: “Vegan” White Chocolate Pancakes with Raw Raspberry Jam

Or, how many popular food trends can I get into one blog post. Because yep, these are vegan. The ‘jam’ is raw. The ‘jam’ uses chia seeds. The only reason vegan is in inverted commas here is due to the fact that I used normal, albeit lactose free, milk. And didn’t check my chocolate label. They work fabulously with dairy-free milk, and I’m sure if you are actually fussed about the vegan-ness you can grab some suitable chocolate.

For the budgeters out there, Sainsbury’s 35p Basics white chocolate works perfectly well. And coconut oil doesn’t have to be expensive either, I’ve finally tracked some some branded by KTC, its stocked in the World Foods section of big supermarkets and is a purse-friendly £2.55 for a BIG jar. Far cheaper than anywhere else I’ve tried. Chia seeds are expensive anywhere but Whole Foods, where a decent size packet costs under £2. So with this and the rapsberries its not the cheapest of brunches. But it’s damn yummy…

The raw raspberry jam is a bit of a relevation for me. I’m not a huge lover of regular jams, finding them sticky, sweet and not tart enough. This is slightly more of a coulis texture, but it is satisfyingly sharp, a hint of sweetness and almost pure raspberry flavor. Best of all there’s no faffing with making it, and it keeps in the fridge for a few days.

The white chocolate pancakes are sweet, slightly chocolatey and surprisingly light considering their ingredients list. They do, however, burn easily whilst taking a while to cook. Not one to make when lacking patience (ahem…). These were inspiring by a recipe from Miel Cafe, but I’ve altered them to cut down the sugar slightly. Despite this mine are still super sweet!

Ingredients (to serve two generously)

• For the jam – 1 tablespoon of chia seeds, two tablespoons of water, a small handful of raspberries
• For the pancakes – 80g white chocolate, 3 tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 100g of plain flour and up 90ml milk (dairy, soya, almond etc), a teeny tiny pinch of salt

Start by making the jam. Soak the chia seeds in the water for at least ten minutes. Then tip into a blender (I used a mini food chopper) with the raspberries and blitz until it’s your preferred consistency. Transfer to a jar and pop in the fridge.

For the pancakes, melt 50g of the white chocolate in a bowl, along with the coconut oil. Chop the rest of the chocolate into small chunks. Add the flour, baking powder and salt to the chocolatey-oil and mix well. Loosen with milk, a little at a time, until you have a pancake-like mixture. It shouldn’t be as thin as a crepe mixture, you’re looking for something similar to an American pancake mix.

Heat some oil on a low heat, and add a little pancake mix. Sprinkle over a few chocolate chunks immediately, then leave until the underside is golden. Flip (careful – they are a little more fragile that normal pancakes), cook until the other side matches, then keep warm until all the mix is used. Serve your vegan white chocolate pancakes with the raw raspberry jam and any spare chocolate chunks.

They might be a bit cliche now, but I could totally get on the vegan bandwagon if it involved dishes like this! I’m not a huge advocate of the raw trend in general (I do like my food cooked!), but I can see the benefit in things like this. The raw jam is just so much fresher!

What’s your favorite foodie ‘trend’? Are you a pancake fan?