Welcome to another sweet Sunday, friends. We have a different offering this Sunday: a few breezy links and my best recipe for sweet potato pancakes.
I’m writing this on Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, sitting next to my spiral notebook with all of my Thanksgiving prep notes. Currently scheming how much gravy is too much gravy. Is there such a thing?
I have soup dumplings in the microwave at Abby’s suggestion and did you know that you can lightly traumatize yourself with time by watching the early 2000s re-unfold right before your eyes in MTV’s True Life on Hulu.
Speaking of Hulu, TikTok just alerted me to Hulu’s Black Friday deal which may be worth canceling my account over.
I had a small crisis about what clothing to put on my body this winter as nasty cold rain descended on Houston and once the moisture settled I landed on this sweater dress from Everlane and these boots that I will be living in until the spring. Maroon is my color this season because every time I wear it, Will gives me a compliment like the true Aggie he is. I wouldn’t be me if I weren’t rollin’ around in glory of an unsolicited compliment.
ANYWAY – I’m thinking you might have a smidge of leftover sweet potato casserole in the fridge and I thought I could talk you into turning those into pancakes. If you don’t have the casserole left, maybe you have a lonely sweet potato that could use a boil and a mash.
The invitation today is to put on this album (and turn up the volume just a bit) and make a big ol’ batch of pancakes and spiced butter for whomever is in the house. It’s a big batch, baby. We’ll stash any leftover pancakes (Lord be a leftover) in the freezer in pairs and toast them for breakfast for as long as they’ll last.
Have I eaten a frozen pancake straight from the freezer? Yes, and while it’s nothing I’m proud of, I would do it again.
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make these sweet potato pancakes:
• all-purpose flour (this recipe also works with gluten-free flour)
• brown sugar
• baking powder and baking soda
• spices: ground ginger, ground nutmeg and ground coriander for the pancake batter
• kosher salt
• mashed sweet potatoes (leftovers from Thanksgiving would be a great idea here)
• buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• melted unsalted butter
• vanilla extract
• for the spiced butter: unsalted butter, ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and flaky sea salt
• maple syrup
We’ll start by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Cinnamon is an obvious choice for cozy spices this time of year, but maybe a bit too obvious for these pancakes. Into the batter we’ll whisk ginger, nutmeg and coriander – warm but unexpected.
I borrowed The Kitchn’s tips on how to make fluffy buttermilk pancakes and separated egg whites from the yolks, whisking the egg whites until just frothy. Set aside and we’ll mix into the pancake batter later – giving these pancakes an easy fluff.
We’ll add the egg yolks to the rest of the wet ingredient after we melt butter in a small pan.
Buttermilk is our chosen dairy for these fluffy numbers. If you’re out of buttermilk, a heaping spoonful of yogurt in whole will also do the trick.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. The baking powder will activate and the batter will fluff as it’s mixed. Finally, stir in the frothy egg white until just combined.
Let’s talk about our butter mixture. I want to coax all of the cozy flavor we can out of this Sunday morning so we’re making a spiced butter to top our warm pancakes.
Mix together softened butter with a few good pinches of cinnamon, ginger, and flaky sea salt.
Fry 1/4 cup portions of pancake batter in a nonstick skillet over medium heat with a swipe of melted butter. Medium-high heat is just too hot and will burn the butter while the pancakes cook.
Flip each cake when bubbles arise and burst on the surface.
Serve with a generous smear of spiced butter and several food glugs of maple syrup.
This is one of those forever pancake recipes. Tape it to the inside of the cupboard and make them a weekend thing. Happy Sunday, friends! Make it a good one!
xo
PrintSweet Potato Pancakes
- Author: Joy the Baker
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 - 5 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Category: breakfast, brunch
Description
The sweetest fall weekend breakfast
Ingredients
For the Pancakes:
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup well mashed sweet potatoes
- 1 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cinnamon Butter:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- Flaky sea salt
- Maple syrup for serving
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together mashed sweet potatoes, buttermilk, melted butter, egg yolks, and vanilla extract.
- In a small bowl, use a fork to whisk egg whites until loosened and just barely frothy.
- Add the wet ingredients all at once to the floor mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until just combined. Stir in the egg whites.
- Allow batter to rest for 10 minutes. Take this the to stir together the spiced butter ingredients and set aside. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 225 degrees F. Place a clean, lint-free kitchen towel on a quarter sheet pan. This is where we’ll place the pancakes after they’re cooked, to keep warm in the oven.
- Melt a pat of butter in a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. When butter has melted to bubbling and foamy, reduce heat to medium-low and ladle about 1/4 cup of pancake batter into the pan. Cook until bubbles start to form around the edges before flipping. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side. Place the cooked pancakes on the prepared pan and slide them into the oven.
- Repeat with another pat of butter in the hot skillet until all the pancakes are fried.
- Serve with spiced butter and maple syrup.
19 Responses
This looks like a great recipe for using sweet potatoes in a pancake recipe. I really want to try this recipe since the flavor cambo is good and it is another great way to incorporate these potatoes loaded with nutritional value. Thank you for sharing.
Had to come back and share that this pancake recipe knocked everyone’s socks off! I only used some of the leftover sweet potatoes for a single batch and then was immediately told to use the rest of them to make a double batch of the pancakes!
This Sunday post gave me a warm n’ fuzzy feeling :)
My favorite food blog post each week is yours. I look forward to it each and every week. You missed one week once and I was devastated or damn disappointed. I love your recipes and make a bunch of them. You are a cherished talent.
Just signed up for Hulu after VERY recently stating I can’t keep up with my other streaming networks…
Hahahha! – Might be worth cancelling, putting on another credit card for the deal! :)
I really look forward to this post each week!! I am loving Keith Jarrett’s piano. Do you have George Winston’s December? It is THE holiday album that kicks off the season for me. I have to listen to it while I make stuffing. It is a little bittersweet now with all the changes life brings, but the memories are beautiful and it still fills me with Joy! Sweetie, why do you eat frozen pancakes? I know you have a microwave :>)
Marsha
I’ll put George Winston’s album on this week – thank you for the rec! Sending you love, Marsha. I’ll think of you next time I go for a frozen pancake.
This looks like the perfect thing for the lonely sweet potato on my counter. And tunes to boot, you are the best!
I love your style of writing! You always make me smile or chuckle! Thank you Joy!
Loved Keith Jarrett. Perfect for this early morning snow in Montana. You may have heard her already but I wanted to also suggest Samara Joy.
Samara Joy – thank you! It’s going on today!
Yum!
And I laugh in the face of eating a frozen sweet potato pancake. My husband froze my leftover birthday cake by the slice. Last night, while he was eating pumpkin pie, I ate my cake with milk poured over it and pretended it was ice cream :)
I really love this for you, Karen!
I’d love to see your notes in your notebook for Thanksgiving prep!!!
Keith Jarrett was the soundtrack of my life in the ’70s. And really loud is best!
Happy after-Thanksgiving to you~
Lorrie
This looks wonderful and we have some leftover sweet pots just begging to be pancaked. Grateful for you, Joy!
Happy Sunday Joy. Listening to the album this morning!
Amazing recipe! Thank you.
Happy Sunday, Joy!