Ultimate Chocolate Pancake Stack
10 min 
12 pancakes 
Some people feel that pancakes should be a breakfast for a special occasion, like say Valentine’s Day. Or a special desert; or even something to make only on Shrove Tuesday. We couldn’t disagree more! Because who doesn’t want to get the day off to a great start, no matter when, as long as there is a bit of extra time at hand? Like the weekend. And try this swooningly delicious Ultimate Chocolate Pancake Stack recipe for breakfast?
A wonderfully chocolatey twist is added to this stack of light & fluffy pancakes. The Ultimate Chocolate Pancake Stack is layered with rich homemade chocolate spread, then topped with chocolate coffee sauce and nuts…what isn’t there to like? This pancake recipe uses fairly traded ingredients such as Food Thoughts Organic Cocoa Powder and Food Thoughts Luxury Dark Chocolate Chips for a more adult chocolatey taste. For a lighter, milder chocolate flavour, just replace the dark chocolate chips with our ultimate oat milk chocolate chips, winners of a Great Taste award 2022.
If you have a nut allergy, replace the almonds and hazelnuts with Food Thoughts Cocoa Roasted Nibs – a wonderfully crunchy superfood that is also fairly traded.
A final note – we made a big stack for the picture, because we knew it would look yummy. But if you can eat a stack that big on your own, we’d be pretty impressed. This is a really rich, indulgent dish, so three pancakes each is probably a good serving size.
You will need
- FOR THE PANCAKES
- 125g plain flour
- 10g Food Thoughts Organic Cocoa Powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 130ml milk
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- Butter for cooking the pancakes
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPREAD
- 80g Food Thoughts Dark Chocolate Chips
- 20g butter
- 160ml cream
- 1 tbsp Food Thoughts Organic Cocoa Powder
- FOR THE COFFEE SAUCE
- 70g Food Thoughts Dark Chocolate Chips
- 1 tbsp fairtrade coffee
- TO SERVE
- Handful of almonds and hazelnuts chopped (optional)
- Food Thoughts Roasted Cacao Nibs (optional)
Method
Start by making the chocolate spread. Put the chocolate chips in a bowl with the butter and microwave in 30 second bursts, until nicely melted. Stir vigorously to combine the two ingredients, then stir through the cream and the Cocoa Powder. You could put it in the fridge and keep it for a couple of days if you fancy using it as a seriously indulgent toast-topping! For now, just set it aside.
Next, make the pancake batter. Beat together the milk and the egg, then whisk together with the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder. Finally, add the butter and whisk again to combine.
Put the oven on at a low temperature (I usually go for about 80°C) and pop a plate inside, so that you can keep the pancakes warm while you’re cooking.
Place a non-stick frying pan on a high heat and melt a small knob of butter. As soon as it’s melted, add a ladleful of the pancake batter. It’ll be extremely thick and spread out very slowly, but that’s okay – you want a small, thick pancake rather than a large crepe.
Once the pancake's edges are crisping up and the top has just about solidified, flip it over and cook the other side for about 20 seconds, before transferring to the warm plate in the oven.
Repeat step 5 with the rest of the batter, rinsing and wiping the pan between each pancake.
Once the pancakes are all ready, make the quick coffee sauce: melt the chocolate chips in the microwave and stir through the coffee.
To serve, stack up the pancakes, spreading a layer of your homemade chocolate spread between each one. Drizzle the sauce over the top and finish off with the nuts.
