Chocolate chia fudgy pancakes with coconut vanilla kefir

Serves 2 (makes 6-8 pancakes)
Chocolate Chia Fudge Pancakes with Coconut Vanilla Kefir Recipe By Eve Kalinik | Nutritional Therapist, Author + Consultant

Ingredients

Pancakes

  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 120ml warm filtered water
  • 50g coconut flour, plus 2 tablespoons for dusting
  • 30g chestnut flour
  • 4 tablespoons cacao powder, plus a little extra to serve
  • 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 200ml unsweetened cashew (or almond) milk, unhomogenised organic full fat dairy milk
  • 3-4 drops vanilla extract or seeds from 1 vanilla pod
  • 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil for frying

Coconut vanilla kefir

  • 125g cashews soaked for 2 hours, then drained and rinsed with filtered water
  • 40g desiccated coconut
  • 150ml kefir (dairy or coconut)
  • Pinch mineral-rich salt (like sea salt or Himalayan)

Method

First make the coconut vanilla kefir: it needs at least an hour to chill and set, or you can make it in advance as it will last in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Put all of the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. You will need to use the tamper to push down the ingredients, or stop and scrape a few times. Transfer to a sealable glass or ceramic container and place in the fridge for at least 1 hour.

To make the pancakes, mix the chia seeds and water in a bowl and leave for around 5 minutes until sticky.

Sift the flours, cacao powder and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl with the chia mix. Add the milk, vanilla and vinegar and stir to combine well. The mixture should be very thick and dough-like; you may need to add in a bit more coconut flour so you can roll the mixture into one big ball without it sticking to your hands – if so, add it gradually.

Divide the dough into six to eight smaller balls and flatten into pancakes around 1cm this, Dust with a little extra coconut flour on both sides, to stop them sticking to the pan.

Heat the coconut oil in a non-stick shallow pan over a low heat. Add the pancakes (you might need to cook them in two batches). Cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 2-3 minutes Serve on a plate, lightly dusted with cacao powder if you wish, alongside the coconut vanilla kefir cream, coconut yogurt or full fat organic dairy yogurt.