Gluten Free Carrot Cake Pancakes with Yogurt-Maple or Cream-Cheese-Maple Sauce

Ingredients:

For the Maple-Cream Cheese Drizzle (Optional):
• 1 8-ounce package gluten free cream cheese (Philadelphia), at room temperature
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons milk of choice
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter or dairy-free spread (Earth Balance)
(OR) For the Maple Yogurt Sauce (Optional):
• 2 cups vanilla yogurt (or plain and add 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract) (So delicous or Silk brands for dairy-free)
• 1/4 cup pure/gluten free maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
For the Carrot Cake Pancakes:
• 1-1/4 cups Carla's All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Blend
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (or evaporated cane juice/organic sugar, for refined-free)
• 1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1/4 cup pureed pineapple or applesauce (or an additional 1/4 cup buttermilk)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (or 2-1/2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure/gluten-free vanilla extract
• 1 cup packed (about 3) finely grated or processed peeled carrots, drained on paper towels
• 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, plus more for garnish (optional)
• Gluten-free cooking spray, oil, or butter, for frying

Instructions:

To Make the Cream Cheese-Maple Sauce:
1. Place the cream cheese, maple syrup, milk, and butter in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To Make the Yogurt-Maple Cheese Sauce:
2. In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the yogurt, maple syrup, and cinnamon, if using, until thoroughly combined. Refrigerate until the cinnamon infuses with the yogurt and you are ready to serve.
To Make the Pancakes:
3. Preheat the oven to 170 - 200ºF (lowest possible) to keep the fried pancakes warm.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour blend, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large bowl.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter/oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the carrots and whisk until combined.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the nut, if using. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours.
7. Remove batter from refrigerator, add additional milk, if necessary to thin out. However, leaving it as thick as possible produces fluffy pancakes.
8. Preheat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add oil, gluten-free spray oil, or butter; swirl around the pan until the bottom is coated.
9. Add 1/4 cupfuls (I use an individual dry measuring cup) of batter to the skillet, pressing down with the back of the measuring cup to slightly flatten, forming a pancake. Cook until the tops form lots of bubbles and the edges are cooked enough so that when you flip them, they don't break or spill, about 2 minutes. Quickly flip the pancakes over and cook until the bottoms are lightly golden brown and the centers are no longer raw.
10. Place the cooked pancakes on a baking sheet (I line mine with a silicone baking mat to make cleanup easier) and keep in the oven until ready to serve them all.
11. Create stacks of pancakes on each serving plate and drizzle with cream cheese-maple syrup or yogurt-maple syrup. Garnish with chopped walnuts or pecans, if using.

Tips

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