For my son’s first week of school the plan was to make him some sweet treats that he would totally love. But somehow my own taste buds managed to get in the way.

I dreamed up some pancakes stuffed full of his favourite things. Then I got practical and narrowed it down to strawberries and chocolate chips. “Sure, he’ll love that. But will I? I have to eat these too.”

Hmmm…what about some nice white chocolate chunks instead of chocolate chips? He won’t notice the difference.

Oh, and what goes better with white chocolate and strawberries than a touch of lemon?

And while I’m at it, I might as well make these a tiny bit healthier: How about some whole wheat flour and a sprinkle of wheat germ?

Done! A sweet breakfast that my schoolboy slurped up. A sophisticated breakfast that his mom savoured. A bit of healthfulness that slipped by barely noticed by either of us.

Strawberry And White Chocolate Pancakes

Printer-Friendly Version of the Recipe

Yields 12-14 pancakes.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose whole wheat four
• 2 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsps brown sugar
• 2 tbsps wheat germ
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/4 cups milk
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus a bit extra for brushing onto the skillet
• 1 egg, cracked into a little bowl and stirred up a bit
• 2 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 8 ounces strawberries (10-15), hulled and sliced
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind (please don’t omit this rind. It is essential to the recipe!)
• maple syrup for serving

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºF.
2. In a large bowl toss together the flours, baking powder, brown sugar, wheat germ and salt. Splash in the milk, oil and egg. Stir it all together until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Fold in the berries, chocolate and lemon rind.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush it lightly with some veg oil.
4. Pour puddles of batter into the pan using a 1/4 cup measurer. When the tops of the cakes are bubbly, some of the bubbles have popped and the edges of the cakes look a bit dry, flip them over and cook for another minute or two, just until lightly browned underneath. Transfer the pancakes to an oven safe plate (a pie plate works well too). Put the plate of cakes into the oven to stay warm. Repeat until you’ve used up all the batter.
5. Serve with maple syrup.

Tip: Do you find that your second and third batches of pancakes cook too quickly and nearly burn on the bottom before the tops are bubbly? Here’s what I do to solve this problem: When a batch of pancakes has finished cooking on their first side, flip them and then remove the pan from the heat. Allow the pancakes to cook on their second side off the heat (they will cook because the pan is still very hot). Remove those cakes from the pan, return the pan to the heat, brush with oil and immediately start the next batch. Removing the pan from the heat for that short amount of time allows it to cool down just slightly so the next batch of cakes is less likely to burn.

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Other Posts in the Series Sweet Stuff for a Sweet Boy:

Where Summer Meets Fall: Shortbread and Pecan Crusted Ice Cream Balls with Maple Drizzle

The Sweet Stuff

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Check out the other Cook the Story Series and find out what’s coming soon.

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Some more tasty inspirations for you:

A Drink Recipe for Brunch: Mango Lime BellinisMy Best Potato Recipe: Parmesan Roasted w/ VidaliasMake Ahead Recipe: Granola, Yogurt & Walnut CupsAn Easy Egg Recipe And My Inner Domestic Goddess