I’m thrilled to share these dessert-like vegan carrot cake pancakes with you. A bit of a mouthful isn’t it?
The batter is crazy stiff and looks kind of weird because of the chia gel, but once you lay it into the hot pan with some coconut oil, it starts to smell awfully familiar in the kitchen. These are like thin, little carrot muffins with a bit of an orange aroma and slightly crisped edges. Slather some tangy, lime-y and rich cashew cream on there with a drizzle of maple syrup and you get full-on breakfast indulgence not unlike the ubiquitous cake slice of choice. I wouldn’t say that cashew cream is low fat by any stretch, but it’s reasonable to say that it’s a more nutritionally virtuous option than sugared up cream cheese icing.
In general, I’m pretty enthused for a nice breakfast. It’s easily my favourite meal and one that I never, ever skip. There’s a whole ritual with the tea and that first piece of fruit and the effort to make the meal balanced in the early hours. Everyone has their routines and preferences.
When you work as a server or cook for a brunch shift at any restaurant, you see and experience this so strongly: the infinite styles of eggs, sweet or savory dishes, sauces on top or on the side, ketchup on everything!, light or dark toasted white, wheat or rye bread, just toast and butter!, fruit, potatoes, milk, cream and sugar, smoked fish, preserves, yogurt and granola, sausage or bacon?, salads, beans and rice, scones, croissants, doughnuts, indulgence!, but then.. sensibility! It’s very individual and all of the personality and life tied up in it is pretty interesting to me. I feel like I’m learning something about the person as I listen to their precise order.
If someone makes these pancakes for your breakfast, you yourself will learn that a) they are the coolest person ever and b) they probably really like you. Another reason to not skip breakfast, am I right?
Vegan Carrot Cake Pancakes with Lime Cream
Ingredients
Cashew Cream
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 4 hours
- scant ½ cup water
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
Pancakes
- 2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp water
- ¾ cup non-dairy milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ¾ cup whole spelt flour
- ½ cup white spelt flour
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, plus more for cooking
- 2 cups finely grated, loosely packed carrots
- ¼ cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Equipment
Notes
- Grate the carrots on the fine side of the grater for a more refined textured pancake.
Instructions
- Make the cashew cream: Combine the cashews, water, lime juice, vanilla and lime juice in a blender or food processor and blend/process on high until smooth. Scrape cream into a container and refrigerate until ready to serve (it will firm up a bit).
- Stir the ground chia seeds and 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp water together until combined. Set aside for 5 minutes or until the mixture gels.
- Stir the apple cider vinegar into the non-dairy milk and allow it to curdle for a few minutes.
- Make the pancakes: Combine the whole spelt flour, white spelt flour, orange zest, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl and whisk together. Form a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Add the maple syrup, coconut oil, chia gel and curdled milk mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in grated carrots gently.
- Cook pancakes: Heat a large saute pan to medium-low. Pour in about a tablespoon of coconut oil to get started. Once it’s heated up, place 1/4 cup portions of batter into the pan (not too many at a time!). Cook until bubbles start appearing on the surface and bottom edge looks slightly browned. Flip it over and repeat cooking process. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked pancakes warm in a foil covered plate or in a low oven on a parchment lined sheet.
- Serve hot with cashew cream, maple syrup and chopped walnuts.
Hi there, if I wanted to use just regular flour, would that work? As in, 1 1/4 c flour rather than the two spells?
Hi Allie,
Yes, you could substitute 1 1/4 cups of regular all purpose flour here.
-L
Delicious! I substituted the ground chia seeds for flax and used sprouted spelt flour in lieu of the whole + white mix. They turned out perfectly and made the house smell like freshly baked apple cider doughnuts! Thank you for a decadent weekend treat :)
These pancakes are sooo good! We were looking for some comfort during the pandemic and this did the trick. The combination of the warming spices, orange zest, and the lime cashew cream is just divine. This will be a repeat recipe for our family!
Hello! Been wanting to try this recipe for a while, but I have a quick question: does this makes 4 pancakes or enough pancakes for 4 people?
Thank you!
Made these as an alternative for pancake day. First time I’ve used chia as a replacement for eggs, amazing! You would never know the difference!
Oh, and the cashew lime cream is stunning!
Hi Laura, what does apple cider vinegar do vs white vinegar…is it just flavour, or are there other things at work there? Thanks!
It just creates the leavening/flavour qualities of traditional buttermilk. I like the flavour of apple cider vinegar, but you could do lemon juice, white wine vinegar, any other acidic medium of choice.
-L
This looks incredible! Can I substitute both the spelt flours with coconut flour or almond flour?
Hi Peach, I’m not sure how well that substitution would work. Coconut flour tends to be extremely drying and almond flour makes goods incredibly moist. If I were to try anything, I’d do a full cup of almond flour and a 1/4 cup of coconut flour–possibly even less. The liquids/carrot amount in this recipe might have to be adjusted to accommodate such a change as well. You can try playing with it if you like, but I’m not optimistic on the workability with this one.
-L
I was wondering if I coukd use Kamut flour or just organic whole wheat flour. What are your thoughts? My kids will love this recipe.
Hey April, Either of those would work just fine :)
-L
OMG! Just having this for breakfast and is zoo good!
Thanks
Super yummy, loved these pancakes. Was looking for something special for my b’day and this was perfect. Thanks for another great recipe.
Yum, I love the idea of the cashew cream with these!
My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures! I’ll have to try these this coming weekend!
oops, I meant to say I found you over at Happyolks—had So Good & Tasty’s lemon tart with rosemary crust on my mind…
Oh gosh I’ve had that tart on my mind too! LOVE your photography. So gorgeous in all of its life moments. Thanks for visiting :)
Hi, Laura. I just discovered your blog over at So Good and Tasty. Your recipes are absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to try these pancakes!
Can you substitute flax seeds for chia seeds?
Hi Rida,
You can definitely substitute ground flax for the chia in equal amount, but (as I’m sure you know) the flavour of the flax may be a bit stronger.
-L