There's nothing like waking up to the smell of fresh pancakes on a crisp, Saturday morning. This fluffy chocolate pancakes recipe includes a sprinkle of cinnamon and has been dressed up with a delicious and easy pear compote! This recipe is a chocolate lover's dream!
The husband and I have really been into making fun and indulging breakfasts lately (I like to blame part of that on my pregnancy cravings) but have been limiting them to weekend breakfast since that's when we're both off. Those weekends that I look forward to have been consisting of a lot of healthy French toast and a batch of pancakes topped with warm syrup! Since it is the fall season, we've been experimenting with adding in different spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, pumpkin spice, ground cloves, and more! I said, "let's shake things up a bit and try making a yummy chocolate pancakes recipe" and of course, he obliged. Who doesn't love chocolate and pancakes?
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Why You'll Love this Chocolate Pancakes Recipe
Apart from this being a super simple recipe, these sweet pancakes are sooo fluffy and fun to eat. They're also made with simple ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry. The unsweetened cocoa powder that I mixed into the pancake batter added the perfect amount of chocolatey goodness! You can always omit the cocoa powder if you'd like to enjoy them as plain pancakes instead. This recipe is sure to become a family favorite for many years to come!
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Large egg
- Brown sugar
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Sour cream
- Milk
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make the Best Chocolate Pancakes
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat together your egg and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Next, whisk in vanilla extract, vegetable oil, sour cream, and milk.
3. Pour bowl of dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients. Combine with a spatula.
4. While you let the batter rest, heat skillet or griddle over medium heat and add about ½ tablespoons of butter and vegetable oil (do this for each batch of pancakes that you make at a time). The vegetable oil helps the melted butter not burn quickly. Use a ladle to pour chocolate pancake batter onto the hot pan. Once you start to see air bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, that will be your cue to flip them over. The edges of the pancakes will also begin to crisp up. This usually takes between 1-2 minutes. After you flip them over, cook for about a minute then plate it. Serve with maple syrup, pear compote and crushed pecans.
Fun Topping Ideas
These cocoa powder pancakes are very versatile and go well with many different toppings. I've included instructions on how to make and pair it with a simple pear compote down below in the recipe card. Here are a few more delicious ways to enjoy this breakfast recipe:
- Peanut butter chips
- Fresh berries
- Caramel sauce
- Chocolate sauce
- Chocolate syrup
- Fig syrup (we have a fig syrup recipe)
- Maple syrup
- Pat of butter
- Other fresh fruits
- A dust of Dutch cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Peanut butter
- Crushed pecans or other nut variety
- Chocolate ganache (we have an easy recipe for this in our chocolate pound cake recipe post)
Substitutions
- Whole Milk - instead of using whole milk, you can use soy milk, almond milk or any other plant-based milk.
- Vegetable Oil - feel free to swap out the vegetable oil for coconut oil. Keep in mind that coconut oil may alter the taste.
Variations
- Double Chocolate Pancakes - add in a cup of chocolate to your pancake batter to make double chocolate chip pancakes. You'll have gooey chocolate chips with each bite!
- Triple Chocolate Pancakes - to really kick up the chocolate flavor, fold in 1 cup of mini chocolate chips and top of your cooked pancakes with chocolate syrup.
- Chocolate Waffles - use the pancake mix from this chocolate pancake recipe as a waffle mix to make chocolate waffles.
Top Tip
Before cooking your perfect chocolate pancakes, we recommend adding a bit of butter and vegetable oil onto a hot skillet or griddle over medium heat. This combination of butter and vegetable oil helps keep the butter from burning. Be sure to do this step for each set of pancakes you cook.
Looking for other fall inspired recipes? Check out our new pecan bars with shortbread crust and apple cheesecake bars.
The secret behind getting fluffy pancakes is a combination of leavening agents like baking powder and baking soda with an acid such as sour cream. That's right. There's sour cream in this chocolate pancakes recipe. Another trick that helps get these nice and fluffy is whisking together your egg and sugar before adding in the other wet ingredients into the bowl.
Thick pancakes will reheat well in a toaster. Toast them on a low setting until they are heated through. A toaster oven is another favorite way to reheat pancakes if reheating a smaller volume. For reheating larger volumes of pancakes, we recommend using an oven. Preheat your oven to around 350°F (175°C). Place the pancakes on a baking sheet and cover them with aluminum foil. Warm them in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes or until they reach your desired temperature. You can then proceed to transfer pancaked to a wire rack to let them cool a bit.
It is generally recommended to not leave pancakes out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Equipment
Storage
Store leftover pancakes in an airtight container. If stacking pancakes, place a piece of parchment paper between each pancake to prevent sticking. Store container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
The Best Chocolate Pancakes
Author:Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 cup milk can be plant-based
Pear Compote
- 1 pear
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- dash of cinnamon
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together your egg and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Next, whisk in vanilla extract, vegetable oil, sour cream, and milk.
- Pour bowl of dry ingredients into bowl of wet ingredients. Combine with a spatula.
- While you let the batter rest, heat skillet or griddle over medium heat and add about ½ tablespoons of butter and vegetable oil (do this for each set of pancakes that you make at a time). The vegetable oil helps the melted butter not burn quickly. Use a ladle to pour chocolate pancake batter onto the hot pan. Once you start to see air bubbles forming on top of the pancakes, that will be your cue to flip them over. The edges of the pancakes will also begin to crisp up. This usually takes between 1-2 minutes. After you flip them over, cook for about a minute then plate it.
Pear Compote
- Slice pear lengthwise. Heat up a small saucepan on low heat. Add butter and brown sugar. Then stir in cinnamon, salt and cornstarch. Add in pear slices and let simmer for about 10 minutes. It will be ready once pears are soft.
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