Dark choc and buttermilk pancakes with green apple and orange caramel sauce

Another one of the dishes served at my Breakfast with Benefits was the dark chocolate and buttermilk hotcakes with green apples and an orange caramel sauce - they went down a real treat!

It was a very thick batter and they took a while to cook, which didnt make my life very easy when I had to make so many! The apples were thinly sliced and served with the pancakes. The bitter chocolate, the doughy pancake with the crispy tart apple and the thick sweet caramel together is a match made in heaven! This was one of the most popular items on the menu!

Pancakes

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 cups buttermilk
• Half block dark chocolate grated or chopped 
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus some for the pan, or oil spray.

Method

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Add eggs, buttermilk, chocolate, and 4 tablespoons butter; whisk to combine. Batter should have small to medium lumps.
2. Using a pastry brush, brush remaining 1/2 teaspoon of butter or give the pan a spray with oil. Wipe off excess.
3. Using a ladle, about 1/2 cup, pour pancake batter, in pools 2 inches away from one other. When pancakes have bubbles on top and are slightly dry around edges, about 2 1/2 minutes, flip over. Cook until golden on bottom, about 1 minute.
4. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping finished pancakes on a heatproof plate in oven. Serve warm.

Orange caramel sauce

Sugar

Cream

Orange

1) Into a pan, pour a thin layer of sugar to just cover the bottom, and wait until it starts to melt. Give it a stir until its all melted.

2) Add another thin layer of sugar and wait till it melts a bit and give it a stir - make sure you get all the crystals from the edges of the pan.

3) Repeat steps until you have enough caramel.

4) Add a good splosh of cream and stir - if the sugar siezes, you have to remelt the sugar, so just keep stirring.

5) Add the juice of the orange and some of the zest, and allow to cool off.

6) Pour over pancakes and thinly sliced green apples.

Thanks to Carol Anne for the pics!

This is also my entry into the We Should Cocoa blog comp!  Each month either The Chocolate Pot or Chocolate Log Blog will nominate an ingredient that you must use in conjunction with some kind of chocolate. This month its apples!