Red Velvet Pancakes Recipe

The line between breakfast and dessert can be blurry at times. After all, are bread pudding and French toast really all that different? Both are made with the same essential ingredients: bread, eggs, and milk. And isn't a crepe really just another version of the morning meal's "pancake"? And speaking of pancakes, recipe developer Hayley MacLean of Happy Healthy Hayley, came up with this recipe for red velvet pancakes just in time for Valentine's Day. The recipe is so gooey, sweet, and decadent that it's bound to be a tough call whether to present it with a flourish at the tail end of a candlelit dinner, or whether to exercise (enormous) patience by saving it for the morning meal.

For her part, McClean, who sees the "red velvet flavor profile" (which she describes as, essentially a "vanilla" recipe with a hint of cocoa) as a novel way to start off Valentine's Day on the right note. "What a fun way to start Valentine's Day with a festive, sweet breakfast filled with love," she points out to Mashed. And on that note, how about we get this gorgeously hued prelude-to-romance going? 

To make MacLean's recipe for red velvet pancakes, you'll need ingredients for the pancakes themselves, as well as the cream cheese topping. For the topping, you'll need 4 ounces of cream cheese, softened at room temperature, ½ cup powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. For the pancakes themselves, you'll need 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup whole milk, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 large egg (at room temperature), ¾ cup buttermilk (plus more as needed), 1 tablespoon red food coloring, and 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil for greasing the griddle. 

To make the presentation extra fun, feel free to add the toppings of your choice. As noted above, MacLean uses white chocolate chips and Valentine's Day-themed M&M's, but the choices are limited only by your imagination.

To make the cream cheese topping, put the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla into a medium-sized bowl. Pour in half the milk, and use an electric beater set to medium to combine the ingredients well. Drizzle in more milk and continue beating until your topping is thin enough to pour, but not so thin as to be milky-looking or translucent. Set the cream cheese topping aside while you make the pancakes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another medium bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, canola oil or vegetable oil, and the red food coloring. Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring until well-combined. If, when you're finished mixing, it's too thick to pour, add more buttermilk in small amounts until the mixture is pourable but still slightly thick. 

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium heat. Lightly grease the heated skillet or griddle with a spritz of your favorite cooking spray or a quick slick of butter, oil, or shortening. Pour the batter onto the cooking surface in ⅓ cup portions. Cook for 3-4 minutes, until the edges begin to set and bubbles form on top, then flip — gently — and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Just be sure to keep a "tight watch" so as not to allow the pancakes to overcook, MacLean advises.

Serve immediately, topped with the cream cheese drizzle. Garnish with the toppings of your choice.