Tuesday Tastings :: Buttermilk Heart Pancakes

We usually ditch the fancy restaurant on Valentine’s Day in favor of a cozy dinner at home, prepared together with an open bottle of good bubbly and Chet Baker on repeat. Besides, in some ways breakfast is the most romantic meal of the day… or perhaps for the morning-after? In any case, I’ll be making these extra light and fluffy heart-shaped buttermilk pancakes, and serve them to my Valentines (Phoebe, too!) with berries and warm maple syrup. 

We put together this “breakfast in bed” themed shoot for DIY Network this year as part of a collection of creative Valentine’s date ideas. Hop on over to read them all, including a romantic camping trip for two and a romantic at-home spa. I don’t know about you, but they definitely make me want to infuse a lot more romance into life, all year around! Hope you get inspired to be a little creative this Valentine’s Day, and keep reading for the recipe for these passion-inducing pancakes!

Buttermilk Heart Pancakes

*makes about 15 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus more for the pan
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• for serving: fresh berries, powdered sugar, warm maple syrup
• special equipment: heart-shaped pancake molds (I like these)

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. This can be done up to a few days in advance and reserved. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, vanilla and eggs. Add these wet ingredients to the flour mixture, then whisk just enough to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next day, thin the batter with the milk (use less if you want your pancakes to be thicker and heavier.) Lightly spray the inside of your pancake molds with nonstick cooking spray, and coat a griddle or nonstick pan with a little softened butter. Place the mold onto the griddle, and heat over medium-high.
3. Ladle 1/3 cup batter into each mold. Cook until bubbles begin to form on top of the batter, about 2 minutes, then remove the molds and use a spatula to flip the pancakes to the other side. Cook for 2 more minutes until the pancakes are golden brown on the other side. Transfer the pancakes to a warm plate. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you repeat with the rest of the batter.
4. Serve with warm maple syrup, powdered sugar and berries.

*photos by Kimberly Davis