It came to my attention that after all the savory recipes, you were probably hoping to see a slightly sweet one pop up at some point. Well, it’s your lucky day - it’s cherry season (or the tail end of it anyhow)!
When you think of a sweet something-or-other with cherries, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Close your eyes and visualize it. What did you see? Oh, you were thinking about just plopping them in your mouth and eating them, huh? Nah, you want to do something more creative than that. How about pairing them with some chocolate? Perhaps some vanilla, cinnamon, or almonds? Well, I’ve created a recipe with some version of all of these things which can function as a dessert OR a breakfast. Excited yet? Keep on reading!
I know we’ve already covered this in a previous post, but for those new to the blog or who maybe missed that post, please watch this short kitchen hack for cherries. It’s well worth the minute and a half of watch time for a recipe like this that requires a couple cups of cherries!
See, that was easy! So I was sitting in my infamous round chair trying to come up with a combination of ingredients to complement the fresh cherries I’d just purchased and (note: I’ll receive a small percentage of compensation for anything purchased through links in this post) referenced my favorite book, The Flavor Bible, for a reminder on what else might go well with the cherries. After tons of deliberation, I controlled my urge to use every single ingredient that went well with cherries and came up with a plan of attack!
Pancakes. Of course that was what my mind came up with first. Not just any pancakes, however. Dark chocolate cherry pancakes with a cherry balsamic sauce. Now it was all a matter of constructing the batter, something to go on top of it, and making it all fit within the confines of a Fiscally Fit Foodie recipe. Piece of cake...piece of pancake. So for the batter: organic/unbleached wheat flour, skim milk, clover honey, a couple farm fresh eggs, a little coconut oil, some vanilla and almond extract, a pinch of salt, baking powder, cinnamon powder, and 100% cacao - Dutch processed dark chocolate cocoa powder. Mix it all together and add a few cherry pieces and you get this glossy, magical mixture of goodness...
There is an air of decadence that oozes from this stuff, but you’ll be surprised to know that it’s relatively tame as far as indulgences go, it’s got no added sugar (just honey), and the dark chocolate (VERY high cacao content) cocoa powder gives it a unique and slightly bitter quality that pairs nicely with the honey and cherries. The cherry balsamic sauce is made with chopped up and crushed fresh cherries that are still in their juices and combined with water, honey, and balsamic vinegar to create a bit of depth of flavor to go along with that mild sweetness.
You’ve assembled the pancake batter and the sauce, and now it’s all about the pancake creation. Get a non-stick skillet and heat it on medium heat for a minute or two to bring it up to temperature (no oil). Scoop a couple half cups of batter out of your batter bowl and dump them into your skillet, spaced about an inch apart if you can. Cook on the first side for about 3-4 minutes or until the top side looks just about like this:
Once you see a few bubbles and the bottom is set with a nice crust, flip it over with a non-metal utensil (metal will scratch your non-stick pan) and cook for 15-30 more seconds. You want to cook it just enough so it’s set completely, but you don’t want to overcook it and sacrifice the fluffy texture that makes these so wonderful.
Remove to a plate and serve them up! Top with the reserved balsamic cherry pieces, some pistachio or almond pieces, maybe a coconut milk drizzle (or regular fat free half and half), and...if you’re going all out and this is more of a dessert presentation...a small sprinkle of confectioner’s sugar for looks. How’s this?
This is a great way to start or end the day! How often can you say that about something you made? Click here to view the recipe or click here for the printable PDF version of the recipe. Enjoy!
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