These Hot Chocolate Pancakes topped with a rich fudge sauce makes an indulgent breakfast or decadent dessert. Easy to prepare, these buttermilk based pancakes are delicately soft and light with amazing flavour.

Fancy an incredible dessert or breakfast? Then these pancakes are for you. Served with fresh berries or just a scoop of ice cream, these pancakes taste just so good! Topped with a decadent chocolate fudge sauce is truly the crowning glory of these pancakes.

Hot Chocolate Pancakes - Egg-free

Super easy to make, these pancakes get its delicious chocolatey flavour from the addition of cocoa powder and rich fudge sauce. The buttermilk is the ingredient which makes the pancakes so soft. It helps activate the baking soda and baking powder in the batter, making it super light and fluffy.

The combination of these and a few simple ingredients really create an impressive treat. So how about giving your regular pancake recipe a break and give these a try. I promise you will love it too!

Just a note on a few ingredients and substitutes if needed

While the full recipe is written below, this is the section to read if you’re wondering about ingredient substitutions or how these ingredients work in the recipe.

Flour: You can use either all-purpose, cake, or plain flour for this recipe.

Unsweetened cocoa powder: Use only unsweetened cocoa powder for this recipe. Sweetened cocoa powder contains sugar and other ingredients which can affect the taste and texture of the pancakes.

Sugar: I use just a ¼ cup (52g) of sugar in these pancakes, but you can add more if you prefer a sweeter pancake.

Baking powder and baking soda ( bicarbonate of soda)- These contribute to the fluffy light texture of the pancakes. Ensure that it is not past the expiry date. Expired baking powder will result in

Buttermilk: The buttermilk is the ingredient which makes the pancakes so soft. It helps activate the baking soda and baking powder in the batter, making it super light and fluffy.

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make some by adding 1 tablespoon (15ml) white vinegar or lemon juice to 1½ cup (375ml) milk Leave it aside for 2 minutes which will allow it to curdle. Use in place of the buttermilk.

Butter: Use melted butter so that it incorporates well into the batter.

For the chocolate fudge sauce: Chocolate + Heavy cream = delicious fudgy sauce 🙂 You can either use chocolate chips or a roughly chopped bar of chocolate. The chocolate is melted with the cream to create a thick fudgy sauce.

Can I freeze the cooked pancakes?

Besides a weekend breakfast or dessert treat, these pancakes make a quick delicious weekday breakfast when frozen and defrosted. Cook up a batch when you have the time and pop them into the freezer. They can be reheated in the microwave, toaster, or oven. Here is a quick guide on how to freeze and reheat your cooked pancakes.

After cooking, allow the pancakes cool to room temperature. After you’ve finished cooking your pancakes, place them on a cooling rack or plate. Flip them over after about 10 minutes so each side gets a chance to cool down
Stack the pancakes with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper between each. The parchment paper division ensures that the pancakes do not touch and stick to each other.
These pancakes are best eaten within two weeks of freezing. When ready to eat, the pancakes can be defrosted and reheated
Reheat frozen pancakes on a skillet or frying pan. It's best to use your skillet or frying pan to reheat frozen pancakes. Warm the skillet on low heat. Coat the pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter. Place the frozen pancakes on the warm frying pan and flip until the pancakes are warmed to your preference.

Can I reheat day-old cold pancakes?

Although pancakes are best eaten on the day it has been prepared, leftovers can be brought back to its former glory by reheating. Here's how:

Place the pancakes between 2 sheets of paper towel onto a microwave-safe plate. You can reheat one to four pancakes at a time. Microwave on high power for 15 seconds for 1 pancake and 45 seconds to 1 minute for more than 1 pancake.

A Few Cook’s Notes for making Hot Chocolate Pancakes

Use fresh ingredients: To create soft and fluffy pancakes ensure that the baking powder and the baking soda are fresh and not past the expiry date.
Do not overmix the pancake batter: The pancake batter should be mixed just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Overmixing will cause the pancakes to be heavy and dense. It's okay if the batter has a few lumps.
Flip the pancakes when bubbles appear on the surface: Flipping the pancakes more than once will cause hard dense pancakes.
Serve the pancakes while still warm: These pancakes are best served warm or at least an hour after preparing.

How to make Hot chocolate pancakes

Make the chocolate fudge sauce: Place the chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until melted. Make sure to stop the microwave every 40 seconds to stir the chocolate and cream. The sauce will thicken as it cools.

TOP TIP: The bowl and spoon should be dry before adding the chocolate. When chocolate comes into contact with even a small amount of water, it will become quite thick and lumpy.

Make the pancakes:

Whisk together the dry ingredients: Use a large bowl to whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
Whisk together the wet ingredients: Use a separate to whisk together the buttermilk and melted butter.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients: Pour the wet ingredients( buttermilk and melted butter) into the bowl with the whisked dry ingredients ( flour, sugar baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) Whisk gently until just combined.

**TOP TIP:** Do not overmix the pancake batter: The pancake batter should be mixed just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. Overmixing will cause the pancakes to be heavy and dense. It's okay if the batter has a few lumps.

Cook the pancakes: Heat a nonstick pan to medium heat. Spray with nonstick cooking spray or use a sheet of paper towel dipped in a little oil to lightly grease the pan. Pour about a ¼ cup of the batter onto the pan, level it out with the back of a spoon. You can check out the recipe video to see how it's done.
Flip when bubbles appear on the surface: After about a minute, you will see bubbles appear on the surface. This is the time to gently flip the pancake and cook for another minute or until done. Use all the remaining batter to cook all the pancakes in the same way.

**TOP TIP:** Flip the pancakes just once. Flipping the pancakes more than once will cause hard dense pancakes.

Drizzle the fudge sauce over the cooked pancakes: Drizzle the warm fudge sauce over the cooked pancakes and enjoy with berries, a scoop of ice cream or whipped cream if you like.

Enjoy ♥

If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my other amazing cakes and dessert recipes

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