Espresso Chai Pancakes & Sweet Plum Chutney

With a slight chill in the morning air that means the inevitable fall weather is fast approaching, this fancy twist on regular pancakes makes for a wonderful, cool weather Sunday brunch. With fresh plums made into a warm chutney on top of chai spiced pancakes, it’s a perfect mixture of summer fruits and fall flavours. And all covered in a drizzle of maple syrup.

Delicious. Light. Fluffy and Gluten free.

And they smell amazing!

The inspiration for this recipe came from these Dirty Chai Pancakes on ‘The First Mess’ blog. They are so good!

Espresso Chai Pancakes & Plum Chutney

Makes 6 medium size pancakes

Plum Chutney

• 6 mini plums, chopped (about half a cup) (or sub another soft fruit like cherries or strawberrys)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp agave (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp flax seeds

Espresso Chai Pancakes

• 3/4 cups oat milk or other non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cups buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 heaping tsp ground espresso
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 heaping tsp ground flax seeds (optional)
• 1/4 tsp ground vanilla (or vanilla extract)
• 1 tbsp agave or maple syrup (add 2 tbsp for sweeter pancakes)
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil

Extra

• Oil for the frying pan
• Maple syrup, banana or other fresh fruit, seeds, or anything else you want to top the pancakes with

Directions

1. First, make the plum sauce. Cut your plums in half and remove the pits. Then chop the plums into small pieces.  Put the pieces in a small saucepan with the water, agave and flax seeds. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Let it boil for 2 minutes and then turn the heat down to low/medium and continue to stir every now and then.
2. In a frying pan, put 1 tbsp of oil (I used coconut) and turn on to medium heat to preheat the frying pan.
3. In a small cup, mix the oat milk and apple cider vinegar, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes
4. In a large bowl, mix the buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, espresso, spices, flax seeds and vanilla
5. Add the milk, agave and coconut oil and stir until everything is well mixed.
6. Turn the heat down to low/medium and spoon the batter into your frying pan. The pancakes cook really quickly so keep an eye on them, and after 1-2 minutes flip them over. Continue until all pancakes are cooked
7. While the pancakes are cooking, finish the plum chutney. The plum pieces should be nice and soft. Using the back of a fork, mash the mixture up a little so it’s like a chunky jam. Alternatively, you could use a hand mixer if you want a smoother sauce.
8. Serve the pancakes topped with plum chutney and maple syrup:)