In honor of National Heart Health Month, we asked food blogger Jennifer Leal of SavoringTheThyme.com to develop a heart-healthy breakfast recipe exclusively for Villeroy & Boch fans. Your taste-buds (and your heart) will thank you for preparing these delicious carrot cake pancakes with meyer lemon zest and sugared berries.
Sunday mornings at Grandma’s may have meant pancakes and bacon. For a healthier breakfast, decrease the white flour, use lower fat milk, add some nutritious carrots and antioxidant spices and skip the fatty butter and sugary syrup. These delicious carrot cake pancakes are topped with fruit and served with lean ham on the side.
Carrot Cake Pancakes with Meyer Lemon Zest & Sugared Berries
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 pancakes)
Ingredients:
3/4 unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup 1% milk
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon meyer lemon zest, minced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrot (about 3 large carrots)
Cooking spray
Directions:
1. Combine flours and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stir and set aside. In another large bowl, combine milk through egg and whisk well. Add the ‘wet’ mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in the carrots.
2. Spray a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray for good measure and heat the skillet over medium heat. Pour 1/4 cup batter in the pan for each pancake. Once you see bubbles starting to come up through the batter, it is time to flip the pancake.
3. Cook the pancakes a minute or so longer, set aside and repeat. Top with some sugared or fresh berries.
Sugared Berries
Ingredients:
1 egg white
1.5 teaspoons water
1 cup white sugar
1-1 1/2 cup of fresh berries (I used grapes, blueberries and raspberries)
Directions:
Whisk the egg white and water together in a small bowl. Place the fruit into the bowl, gently roll the fruit around until lightly coated with egg mixture. Using either a fork or slotted spoon, remove the fruit from the bowl, shake off excess egg mixture and place on a cooling rack. Sprinkle sugar over the fruit until well covered. Gently roll the fruit over and sprinkle again with sugar. Allow to harden for 2 hours although depending on the fruit used, it may be hardened in an hour.
(Recipe and Photos by Jennifer Leal of SavoringTheThyme.com)