The Perfect Chocolate Puff Pancake with Strawberry Sauce

I really like putting on a fun Valentine’s Day breakfast for my girls and this holiday is one of the best.

It’s fun to get out all the Valentine’s decorations after they’ve gone to bed and set the table with a pink tablecloth and scatter tiny paper hearts and put out the red and white striped drinking straws. Ten minutes of effort and they think it’s the best thing on the planet when they come out in the morning.

The past couple of years, I’ve made this insanely good baked croissant french toast with lemon cream cheese, but this year, I decided to switch it up a little with a chocolate puff pancake for our Valentine’s Day breakfast.

There’s some so magical about watching a puff pancake get crazy tall in the oven and then deflate as it cools.

I also love that this one isn’t overly sweet, that it takes about five minutes to put together, and that you can add all sorts of fun toppings.

This Valentine’s Day breakfast is the perfect way to start off your day. Or any  Saturday or Sunday morning. (Or if you’re ambitious enough to make it for a regular Tuesday morning? All the more power to you! And I’ll be over for breakfast).

the perfect chocolate puff pancake recipe

5 from 1 vote

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The Perfect Chocolate Puff Pancake

This chocolate puff pancake with strawberry sauce is absolutely a perfect Valentine's Day breakfast!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4

Author Janssen Bradshaw

Ingredients

Puff Pancake:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup milk

Strawberry sauce:

• 1 cup strawberries hulled (fresh or frozen)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch

To serve:

• Chocolate chips I like mini ones best
• Whipped cream

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In an oven-safe skillet (I used a 10-inch one), melt the butter over medium heat and then swirl it around the pan so it coats the whole bottom and sides of the skillet and set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and salt and then sift in the flour and cocoa. Whisk until smooth. Pour the milk in at a steady stream, whisking constantly.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and bake for about 18-20 minutes, until the pancake is very puffy and looks dry on the edges.
5. While it cooks, make the strawberry sauce. Combine strawberries, water and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the strawberries are very soft (sometimes mine just fall apart and sometimes I mash them a little with a potato masher or fork). Whisk the cornstarch with 2 Tablespoons of water until smooth and then stir into the sauce, letting it cook until thickened. Add sugar if needed, depending on how sweet your strawberries are.
6. Cut the pancake into wedges and sprinkle with chocolate chips, drizzle with strawberry sauce and finish off with whipped cream. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

(recipe slightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

if you liked this valentine’s day breakfast chocolate puff pancake recipe, you also might like these recipes:

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