This vegan Cocoa and Vanilla Pancake Tower is perfect for a long weekend breakfast! Topped with fresh red currant and maple syrup - it's simply delicious.
If you can't decide between cocoa and vanilla pancakes, this stack is for you! Perfectly fluffy, easy to make and the ideal breakfast for the weekend: Vegan Cocoa and Vanilla Pancake Tower.
Pancakes are one of the things I love to make when I have a looooot of time for breakfast or even better: brunch. Although they would be quick to make, I really enjoy taking my time to eat them.
I drizzled my stack of cocoa and vanilla pancakes with maple syrup (the obvious choice, but let's be honest - it's the obvious for a good reason! Pancakes and maple syrup go together like crackers and hummus or pakoras and mango chutney). I've also topped my stack with red currants, but feel free to add any berries or fruits you have at home (extra points when they are seasonal!) :)
Pancake FAQ
If your pancakes are golden brown on the outside but not cooked all the way through, reduce the heat! That way they have more time to cook properly.
Add more baking powder! This will make them fluffier. Mashed bananas + baking powder = are a good recipe for fluffiness! :)
No worries, you can easily adjust the batter! If the batter is spreading too much in the pan, whisk more flour into the batter. If your pancake batter isn't spreading enough, add a bit more plant-based milk!
Yes, the pancakes use very little oil to begin with, so you can easily omit it but they will look different on the outside because I've been spraying/brushing the pan with oil.
Vegan Cocoa and Vanilla Pancake Tower
Ingredients
Cocoa Pancake Batter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- ⅓ cup plant-based milk + 1 tablespoon - I used rice coconut milk
Vanilla Pancake Batter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- ⅓ cup plant-based milk - I used rice coconut milk
- baking spray for the pan
Toppings
- maple syrup for drizzling on top
- 2 sprigs red currants
Instructions
- In two separate bowls, add first the dry ingredients for the cocoa and vanilla pancake batter. Mix. Then add in the plant-based milk. Whisk until smooth.
- Heat a pan or two (I've made two pancakes at the same time) on medium heat and spray it with baking spray.
- Use an ice cream scoop to make evenly-sized pancakes and put a scoop of batter in the pan. Let it cook until it's bubbly on the surface. Turn once and let it cook on the other side for a few seconds. Repeat until you have used up both batters.
- Stack the pancakes, garnish with red currants and drizzle with maple syrup. Enjoy!
June Burns says
What a cool idea! Those look terrific, especially with pomegranate seeds :)
bianca says
Thank you so much June! The Pancakes were sooo good and Pomegranate Seeds are so photogenic - they're perfect to put on everything :D
Alice says
Beautiful idea, especially since I haven't made pancakes in ages.
One of the perks of being a grown-up (at least according to our passports): We get to eat dessert for breakfast, not only on our birthdays and on Christmas Day, but every day we darn well please :D
bianca says
You're so right Alice!! I felt a little bit guilty eating this Pancake Tower for breakfast, but hey, I can do whatever I want :D Thank you so much for your kind comment <3
Tina Jui | The Worktop says
I've included your beautiful cocoa vanilla pancake towers in my weekly breakfast roundup post :) Happy Friday! http://www.theworktop.com/favorite-breakfast-recipes/pancake-recipes-feb-13-2015/
bianca says
Yeayy!! Awesome! Thank you so much for including my recipe, Tina. It's such a great roundup :)
Jasmin says
I like the idea of having pancake tower as a snack - especially the vanilla and cocoa one ;)
bianca says
It's kind of hard for me seeing this delight as breakfast food :D for me it's more like Pancake Cake. But good nevertheless. I'd feel so guilty eating it as a snack if it wouldn't be so damn delicious.
Natalie says
This looks like breakfast perfection! <3 If you don't mind me asking, why sparkling water?
bianca says
Thank you so much, Natalie! The sparkling water makes the pancakes super fluffy and light. Alternatively you can use dairy-free milk. I've made them with almond milk a couple of times and they work as well, but I think they are fluffier with sparkling water :)
Ellie says
Can you use any kind of syrup or does it have to be rice syrup because cookery science?
Bianca says
no cookery science in this recipe :) You can use any liquid sweetener like maple or agave syrup.
Ellie says
Thanks!
Didi says
Can I use another oil instead of canola oil?
They're looking amazing and can't wait to try them!
Why feel guilty?
They're not that bad, are they? :D
Bianca says
Hi Didi! sure, you can use any neutral plant-based oil like coconut oil, sunflower oil,...
You're right, no guilt, no guilt! :)
Didi says
Great!
Thanks!
Sofia says
Looks absolutely delicious, can't wait to try them out! btw can I use normal water instead of sparkling water?
Bianca says
Hi Sofia, I wouldn't recommend it because the sparkling water makes the pancakes airy & fluffy and it reacts with the baking powder.
Sofia says
Thank you for replying! gotta go buy some sparkling water now :)
Elena says
OMG i love them <3 They are looking sooo delicious. Definetely have to try them. Love the combi cacao and vanilla! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
Nice greets
Elena
Bianca says
Yeay, glad you like it, Elena! :)
Emma says
Made this for breakfast today and wow what a treat it was! So tasty. Thank you for sharing.
Bianca says
I'm so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for the review, Emma!! <3
Rebecca says
Hi Bianca!
I no longer see sparkling water in the recipe. Did something change? Also, could this be made the night before or will it not hold well?
Thanks!!
Bianca says
Hi Rebecca,
thank you for asking! I've updated the recipe and used plant-based milk instead of sparkling water. They are still super fluffy. :)
You could prepare the batter the day before with no problems and make them fresh in the morning. :)
SJ says
Can I replace the vanilla bean powder with vanilla extract?
Bianca says
absolutely! :)
carmen says
hi, these look amazing but I want to ask if I can all purpose flour with another flour like oats, coconut...
Bianca says
I tried pancakes with oat flour once but I didn't like them because they were too dense. Maybe a mix of oat flour, coconut flour or almond flour would work better.