Sweet Potato Pancakes

  So last weekend, we went to brunch at Mert’s, and they had sweet potato pancakes as a special. For some reason, I love making and eating pancakes at home, but I hate ordering them out. Halfway through an order of diner pancakes, I feel like Violet from Willy Wonka when she blows up like a blueberry. So I didn’t order them at the time, but I was still thinking about how delicious they sounded days later.

ANYHOW, I stumbled upon a really great looking recipe from Tupelo Honey Cafe, which is a popular restaurant in Asheville that I’ve been dying to go to.  You can find the original recipe here, but given my recent Journey Toward Health, I decided to make them slightly more nutritious. My adapted recipe is below.

To accompany these, I sautéed some peaches and pecans in maple syrup and a tiny bit of OJ.  I put a dollop of plain yogurt on top and they were pretty delicious.

The best part about these pancakes is that you can make the batter in advance. Because, let’s be honest… everyone loves an elaborate weekend brunch, but nobody wants to get up an extra hour early to slave over a hot stove. AM I RIGHT?! I have a little tub of pancake batter now, so I can whip these bad boys up any time.

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour (7.5 ounces)
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (6 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
5 1/2 Tablespoons sugar (98 grams)
1/2 Tablespoon baking soda
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder

Wet Ingredients
1 cups buttermilk
1 cup nonfat yogurt
3 large eggs
2 Tablespoons canola oil

Secret Ingredients
1 big daddy sweet potato
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix the batter

1. Bake your sweet potato and let it cool. I put mine in a 400* oven for about 45 minutes.
2. Whisk together all of the dry ingredients in one bowl.
3. Whisk together all of the wet ingredients in another bowl.
4. Dump wet into dry and mix until just combined. Don’t go crazy, but don’t leave any miniature flour minefields in there (you know what I’m talking about).
5. Take the skin off of the sweet potato and mash it up with the honey and spices. If you prefer, you can use nutmeg instead of the pumpkin pie spice. Nutmeg is not allowed in my house because it is disgusting.
6. Fold the sweet potato into the pancake mix. Stick this batter in the fridge for at least an hour or up to overnight.

When you’re ready to cook

• Allow your pan to preheat for a few minutes
• I use a scant 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of batter per pancake. This clocks in at about 100 calories per pancake.
• Wait until you get little bubbles on top and then flip with a wide spatula.
• These get pretty brown, but don’t worry! They’re delicious.