Chocolate Pancakes

Indulge in the ultimate chocolate experience with our heavenly chocolate pancakes recipe. Light, fluffy, and brimming with chocolate!

These chocolate pancakes are chocolate perfection!  The chocolate flavored pancakes are perfectly light, fluffy and moist, with added chocolate chips for an additional chocolate hit. 

The cooked pancakes are served with a warm chocolate ganache sauce, and garnished with fresh blueberries which complement all the chocolate perfectly.

Tips for the Best Chocolate Pancakes

• Make sure your eggs and milk are room temperature before starting.
• Carefully spoon and level your flour, and measure them exactly.
• Always start by combining your dry ingredients together to make sure your leavening ingredients are evenly distributed.
• Mix your pancake batter until just combined. Small lumps are OK.
• Fold in your chocolate chips, be careful not to over-mix!
• Let the batter rest for 5 minutes. Resting the batter allows the gluten to relax resulting in pancakes that are more soft and tender. This is when you should start pre-heating your pan.
• Use clarified butter in your for the best flavour, without burning.
• The perfect pancakes start with a pan at just the right temperature.
• Bubbles will form and burst on the pancakes when they are ready to flip. Don’t flip prior to this.
• Don’t be afraid to use your first pancake as a test to gauge the heat of your pan.

How to Store and Reheat Pancakes

You can make the batter in advance and store it up to 2 days in the fridge. Just give it a mix before using.

That said, your leavening ingredients won’t work as hard, so your pancakes may not be as light and fluffy.

Pancakes really are best when the batter is used within 5-30 minutes. If you do need to make pancakes ahead of time, you will get better results by frying them and storing the actual pancakes.

To store, let the cooked pancakes cool completely then wrap the pancakes tightly in plastic wrap. To freeze, wrap each pancake in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag or wrapping tightly in foil.

Place in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze up to three months.

When you are ready to eat, simply remove the wrapping and pop them in the microwave for 45-60 seconds or until warm. To help prevent overly soggy pancakes, place them on a paper towel on a plate when microwaving.

You can also reheat them from frozen right in your toaster – this is my favourite method! I find microwaving can make them soggy but the toaster makes them taste almost as good as fresh from the pan.

You can also reheat them in your frying pan over medium-low heat, turning frequently until heated through.

About the Equipment Needed to Make Pancakes

2 Mixing Bowls – Use a large bowl to combine the batter, and a heat proof bowl for the chocolate sauce if making.

Whisk – Use a hand whisk to combine the batter, you don’t need an electric mixer for this job.

Frying Pan or Griddle – You will want to use either an electric griddle or a cast iron griddle pan if possible to get nice crispy edges and consistent cooking. If not, a regular old cast iron pan will give similar results, without the easy of flipping griddles provide.

You will also need a spatula for flipping, and a measuring cup for pouring out the batter.

About the Ingredients for Chocolate Pancakes

Flour – Spoon and level the flour when measuring it, otherwise you’ll wind up with pancakes.

Cocoa powder – Use a good quality unsweetened cocoa powder.

Baking powder & soda – Leavens the pancakes, make sure they are still active so your pancakes rises perfectly.

Salt – Helps to balance all the flavours and make em shine.

Sugar – The granulated sugar could be substituted with brown sugar for a slightly caramel taste, or a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar.  The amount of sugar used can be increased or decreased to suit personal tastes.

Milk – Whole milk was used in this recipe.  Lower fat varieties of milk can be used, however the texture may be affected slightly.

Eggs – Make sure you have room temperature eggs to start with.

Butter – It is best to use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted on hand, simply halve the additional salt.

Vanilla – Real vanilla extract is best but feel free to use artificial if that is what you have on hand.

Chocolate chips – Dark chocolate chips are rich and work so well with the sweetness of maple syrup. You can use semisweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips instead if desired. Feel free to measure these with your heart.

Heavy cream – It’s important to use a whole fat heavy cream in the chocolate sauce to give it the correct texture.

Fresh blueberries – The fresh blueberries are used to garnish the cooked pancakes, and can be omitted if preferred. 

Looking for More Pancake Recipes?

Check out more of my favourite pancake recipes!

These delicious banana pancakes are perfect for a weekend breakfast or brunch. They’re easy to make and only require a few simple ingredients.

The best chocolate chip pancakes recipe ever! Made with buttermilk, these pancakes are soft and fluffy! Add berries for extra flavour!

Feed a crowd at the breakfast table with these Berry Sheet Pan Pancakes! These are quick and easy fluffy pancakes bursting with fresh berries!

How to Make Chocolate Pancakes

Yields: 12 pancakes | Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1⅔ cups all purpose flour
• ⅓ cup cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups milk, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

For the chocolate sauce:

• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 1 cup fresh blueberries, for serving (optional)

Directions:

Add the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt to a large mixing bowl.  Whisk until well combined. (Image 1)

Add the milk, eggs and vanilla extract, and whisk until just combined (there will still be lumps remaining, this is fine).  Fold in the chocolate chips. (Image 2)

Pace a frying pan over medium-high heat and let it warm up, or preheat your griddle.

Once you have a hot pan or hot griddle, add a little vegetable oil or butter and let that heat up.

Add about ¼ cup of the pancake mixture to the pan then turn down the heat to medium. (Image 3) Cook pancakes for 2-3 minutes or until golden on the bottom and the bubbles start to pop, then flip and fry for another 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. (Image 4)

Repeat with the remaining batter. You can cook multiple pancakes in one pan if large enough.

To make the chocolate sauce, heat the cream in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute, or until warm.  Add the chocolate chips and allow to sit for 2 minutes, (Image 5) before whisking until the chocolate chips have melted and the sauce is smooth and well combined. (Image 6)

Pour the sauce over the cooked pancakes, and serve with the fresh blueberries. (Images 7 & 8)