Carrot Cake Pancakes With Sweetened Yogurt

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• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Serves: 8

Ingredients

• Pancakes

• 4  medium carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 1 1⁄2 cups buttermilk
• 1  vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1  orange, zest of, finely grated
• 2  large eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1  teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon fine salt
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 1⁄2 cup  toasted and finely chopped walnuts
•  nonstick cooking spray or   melted unsalted butter, for griddle

• Topping

• 2  cups  plain  Greek yogurt
• 2  tablespoons honey
• 1  orange, zest of, finely grated
• 1  pinch fine sea salt
•  food coloring (optional)
•  shredded coconut (optional)
•  toasted walnut pieces (optional)
•  chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Make the Pancakes: Put the carrots in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer until the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Put the cooked carrots and buttermilk in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Add the vanilla bean, orange zest, eggs, and sugar; puree to fully incorporate.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
3. Pour the wet carrot mixture into the dry flour mixture. Whisk until a smooth batter is formed. The batter may be covered and refrigerated for 1 hour or up to 4.
4. Make the Topping: In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, honey, orange zest, and a pinch of salt. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or up to overnight so the flavors can come together. If desired, transfer the yogurt mixture to a couple of plastic squeeze bottles and add a few drops of food coloring to festively decorate the pancakes.
5. Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat and coat with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Working in batches, ladle the batter onto the pan to form pancakes. Cook until bubbles appear on the surface and undersides are golden brown, about 2 minutes.
6. Reduce the heat to medium-low and flip with a silicon spatula. Cook about 1 minute more on the second side, taking care not to burn the nuts.
7. Serve immediately or transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, until it’s used up.
8. Serve the pancakes decorated with the colored yogurt.