Pancakes

I love breakfast. It's my favorite meal of the day - probably because it's the only meal for which you can have dessert and people won't look at you like you're crazy.
Pudding for dinner is a no-no but french toast for breakfast is okay.

I don't get it but I'm not complaining. Especially when pancakes are on the menu.

Pancakes have always been a personal favorite for me. With maple syrup or whipped cream, fresh fruits or chocolate chips, pancakes are always amazing.

This is a simple but delicious recipe for pancakes. Whenever there's buttermilk at home, I find an excuse to make these!

There are tons of heavy, decadent pancake recipes out there. Although peanut butter-chocolate pancakes like these or these tiramisu pancakes would be delicious, these simple poppy seed buttermilk pancakes are light and perfect to quickly whip up and satisfy a morning sweet craving.

They are practically fool proof. I've made them several times, changing up the flavors and flours and they always turn out fluffy and divine.

Adapted from here

I add some brown sugar for sweetness and some vanilla essence to give it a bit more flavor. I normally don't have baking soda so I substitute it for all baking powder and the texture is still quite fluffy. If you don't have/like whole wheat flour, feel free to use all purpose but I love the nutty, wholesome taste it gives. And of course, it's much healthier.

Variations:
- Add 1 teaspoon lemon zest or orange zest
- Add 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- Use walnuts or almonds or any other nut instead of sunflower seeds

Poppy Seed Buttermilk Pancakes (Makes around 8 pancakes)

1 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/5 cup poppy seeds
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1 1/4 cups organic buttermilk
1 large organic eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoons butter (softened)
1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
a bit of butter or olive oil for the pan

Mix flour, baking powder, salt & seeds in a large mixing bowl.
Add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, butter and sugar and mix until combined well.
Heat a dab of butter or 1/2 tsp olive oil on a flat pan
Pour some batter on the pan and wait for a a minute or two until the pancakes fluffs up and is brown on the bottom. Flip and cook the other side.
Add a bit more oil or butter as required and repeat with the rest of the batter.
Serve hot, with maple syrup or honey and some fresh fruits and nuts.