Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Drizzle from ‘Brunch @ Bobby’s’

This week, we’re spotlighting recipes from Brunch @ Bobby’s: 140 Recipes for the Best Part of the Weekend by Bobby Flay (Clarkson Potter), the celebrity chef and best-selling cookbook author. Try making the recipes at home and let us know what you think!

Photograph by Ben Fink

By Bobby Flay
Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Drizzle
Serves 4; Makes about 14 pancakes

These pancakes are light, fluffy, and chock-full of the flavors that make carrot cake so delicious—including pumpkin pie spice (a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice), sweet candied ginger, toasted nuts, and orange zest—all without being too sweet. One of my favorite parts of carrot cake has to be the cream cheese frosting, and this smooth blend of cream cheese and maple syrup is the icing on the pancake!

11?2 cups all-purpose flour
1?4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1?2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1?2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 large eggs
11?2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the griddle
1?2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup loosely packed finely grated peeled carrots, patted dry on paper towels (about 3 medium)
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1?4 cup finely diced candied ginger
1?4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, plus coarsely chopped nuts for serving
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup pure grade B maple syrup

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, butter, vanilla, carrots, and orange zest in a large bowl until smooth. Add to the flour mixture, fold in the ginger and finely chopped pecans, and mix with a rubber spatula until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Combine the cream cheese and maple syrup in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whip until combined, about 1minute. Transfer to a heatproof bowl and then pop in the oven until just warmed through and easy to drizzle.

Heat a large cast-iron griddle or nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Brush with butter and continue heating until the butter begins to foam. Drop scant ? cupfuls of batter onto the griddle. Bake until bubbles start to form and burst, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook to set the other side, another 1 to 2 minutes. As the pancakes are ready, put them in a single layer on the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven until ready to serve.

Stack the pancakes on plates, drizzle with the cheese mixture, and sprinkle with coarsely chopped nuts.

Reprinted with permission from Brunch @ Bobby’s: 140 Recipes for the Best Part of the Weekend by Bobby Flay (Clarkson Potter).

Perfect your pancake flips with more recipes:

How to Make Gluten-Free Pancakes

Chorizo Cornmeal Pancakes May Be the Best Pancake Recipe Ever

6 Tips for the Best Buttermilk Pancakes