Breakfast for dinner, healthified: sweet potato pancakes

When I was younger, a few times a year my mom would make pancakes for dinner. Ohh, those were special nights indeed. No sausage, eggs, or other breakfast foods as accompaniment: just glorious buttermilk pancakes from scratch; a recipe my grandmother created. We almost never ate pancakes for breakfast, actually, just the occasional dinner. Such a simple recipe - one of the first I learned to make - but good mixing technique can transport pancakes from mediocre flatcakes territory into delicious pancakes. More about mastering it in a bit.

For my international friends, I mean American pancakes, by the way, not crêpes.

On the left, an example of British pancakes, what I would call a crêpe (from Flikr user legalnonresident). On the right is a stack of American pancakes (from Flirk user armisteadbooker).

As my mom (wo)manned the griddle and served up deliciousness four servings at a time, we could request custom toppings. Most of my family stuck with plain pancakes with syrup, occasionally having one with blueberries or pecans, but not me. To me, pancakes have always been - and remain even today - a finger food, and almost always contain chocolate chips.

The idea of gorging myself on pancakes for dinner isn't quite as appealing as it used to be, but if they were made a little healthier... what's the occasional indulgence?

"Healthifying" the pancake
With the recipe below, these pancakes may taste like an indulgence, but they're full of fiber and protein. My roommate and I agree that they would be right at home served with whipped cream because they were sweet and so fluffy. However, the complex carbohydrates of the sweet potato make them quite filling. Whole wheat flour adds additional protein, and both the potato and whole wheat flour boost the fiber content. I can also assure you that any leftovers keep well and make a delicious breakfast.

The art and science behind crafting the perfect pancake
The recipe I used is based upon one from the Food Network; many of my modifications relate to the procedure, not the ingredient quantities. One thing many people do incorrectly when making quick breads (aka baked goods that use baking soda and/or baking powder as leaveners) is to over-mix the batter. If the batter is mixed until all of the clumps of dry ingredients are blended together smoothly, then some of the carbon dioxide bubbles which cause the leavening are popped before the pancake has a chance to cook. If you use fast acting baking powder, the lack of leavening due to over-mixing will be even more pronounced. If you're interested, there is more information about the chemistry of the reaction available here and here (thanks, Wikipedia!).

In order to prevent over-mixing, I like to combine all of my dry ingredients separate from my wet ingredients (mixing each group separately until roughly homogenous), and then slowly pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring as I go. By combining the wet ingredients together first, only one stirring session is required, which prevents re-mixing the whole batter multiple times. By gradually stirring in the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, there is a reduced likelihood that big clumps will form. Clumps are more likely to form when the dry and wet ingredients are dumped together and big globs of flour become encased by the milk (for example) and harder to break apart. My guess is that it has to do with the surface tension of the wet ingredients, but not really important. If clumps are too big, the bitter taste of unreacted baking powder might be noticeable when biting in to the pancake. But if clumps are pea-size or smaller, the expansion of the carbon dioxide bubbles must end up mixing the dry ingredients the rest of the way. At least, I've never noticed or seen any clumps in the final, cooked product when adequately stirred. This technique can/should be applied when you're making muffins or banana bread, too!

From raw potato to sweet, healthy goodness
Since only one potato is required for this recipe, the 'ol "soften it in the microwave, sweeten it in the toaster oven" trick is what I recommend. Punch some holes in the potato skin with a fork or knife, and zzzap it for 5-8 minutes, depending on your microwave. Set the toaster over to about 300*F, and after it is softened in the microwave, roast your potato for another 5-ish minutes. The microwave will do the majority of the cooking, but the over roasting brings out the flavour and helps caramelize the sugars so it's extra sweet! Easier to digest, too.

Mmmm... healthy pancakes

Sweet Potato Pancakes, adapted from the Food Network's website.
Makes about twenty 4" pancakes; I may not have counted properly because I was eating them as each batch came off the frying pan.
Preparation: 10 minutes, assuming the potato is pre-cooked.
Baking: ~3 minutes per batch

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• Pinch salt 
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• Pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups milk
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1 sweet potato, cooked until tender, peeled and mashed/puréed

Directions:

1. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat and add the butter to melt it
2. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, spices)
3. In a large bowl, mix together the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, mashed sweet potato) and whisk until smooth. Once the butter has melted, pour it slowly into the wet ingredients while stirring (to prevent the egg from cooking)
4. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stopping once pea-sized clumps of dry ingredients remain. Do not over-mix!
5. Ladle the batter onto the hot, buttered skillet 
6. Let cook until until bubbles form on the surface (see picture at below left), then flip pancakes and cook until dark golden brown 

Next I may try my hand at pumpkin pancakes - those will definitely include some chocolate chips. I will try to take "during" pictures of the mixing steps, as well, to visually demonstrate what I described about the wet/dry separation and mixing procedure.

Happy nomming!