A couple years ago, Kevin and I had breakfast at a local restaurant called Sleepy Bee Café in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati. We had heard a lot of good reviews about the restaurant from friends and wanted to check out the restaurant for ourselves. One fall morning, we woke up early and headed to the restaurant for some breakfast. When we arrived, we saw hoards of people gathered around the entrance waiting to be seated. The restaurant offered complimentary coffee to guests who were waiting outside. Kevin and I both enjoyed a cup of coffee as we waited for a table. By the time we were seated, I was starved. The atmosphere of the restaurant was very family friendly. Our waiter stopped by shortly after and handed us each a menu. The menu had options for just about any and every person. Kevin went straight for the over easy eggs and sausage patties. My eyes were locked on their specialty pancakes, bee cakes. The description on the menu for the bee cakes listed almond milk, quinoa, and buckwheat flour as the ingredients in the specialty pancakes. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the pancakes, but I was intrigued, so I ordered the bee cakes. When the bee cakes arrived, I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by how fluffy and delightful the pancakes tasted. The pancakes were just slightly sweet and had a unique, nutty flavor. Weeks after our trip to Sleepy Bee Café, I still remembered the taste of the pancakes. It has been a couple years since we last went to the restaurant, but for some reason, I had a sudden urge to recreate the flavors and textures of the bee cakes. There was just something so satisfying about the pancakes, I had to recreate my own version. I put my own spin on the pancakes by folding some blueberries directly into the pancake batter right before frying up each individual pancake. I like to add blueberries directly into the batter because the blueberries, when heated, releases a sweet, almost syrupy liquid. I did play around with the ratios a bit when testing out the recipe to get the texture and flavor just right. After a couple of attempts, I was able to create some truly delicious pancakes. My version turned out equally good, satisfied my cravings, and made for a great way to break up my typical go-to pancake recipe. The pancakes were just the perfect Sunday morning brunch food after a quick run at the gym. Folding blueberries directly into the batter was a game changer. Even Kevin was completely won over by my blueberry, quinoa, and buckwheat flour pancakes. I rounded out the rest of the meal with some eggs and bacon for Kevin and some tofu scramble for myself.
For the pancakes:
· 2/3 cup quinoa flour
· 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
· 2 tablespoons baking powder
· 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
· ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
· 1 cup fresh blueberries
· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Directions:
1) In a bowl, combine the quinoa flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, and sugar. Gradually add the unsweetened almond milk into the flour mixture. Stir until all ingredients are combined and a smooth batter is formed. Fold in the fresh blueberries.
2) Heat a large frying pan on medium heat. Add ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil if frying one pancake at a time or one tablespoon of vegetable oil if frying two pancakes at a time. Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the batter and pour the batter onto the frying pan. Fry the pancakes for about 1-2 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining vegetable oil and pancakes. Let pancakes stand for about a minute before serving.
Takeaways: The pancakes were slightly sweet (just like the ones I remembered at Sleepy Bee Café). You can serve the pancakes with your favorite berries or sliced banana and choice of syrup. I topped my pancakes with some fresh blueberries and pure maple syrup for the ultimate breakfast comfort food.