Fluffy, gluten free, hazelnut pancakes heaped with ripe raspberries, chocolate-cream sauce and toasted hazelnuts make for a decadent breakfast. Cosy up and settle in for a slow welcome to the day with love from the kitchen. 
Shrove (Pancake) Tuesday is tomorrow and Valentine’s Day is just around the corner so I just had to share this pancake recipe with you. These are my new weekend ‘Treat Yo’Self’ breakfast obsession. And if a Sunday morning after a long run isn’t an occasion for a ‘Treat Yo’Self’ breakfast, I don’t know what is! 
Oh my what pancakes these are! Toasted hazelnut meal is the secret to the stand-out flavour of these pancakes. Toasting the meal before incorporating it into the batter brings out the flavour of the ground nuts. The batter proceeds like any other pancake mixture, except we beat the egg white to soft peaks before folding them into the batter just before cooking <– This is my secret for soft, fluffy pancakes every time!
Before we chowed down on these pancakes for brunch on Sunday morning I topped the piping hot cakes with a simple cream and chocolate sauce, some fresh, bright raspberries and, for a little more hazelnut flavour, some toasted hazelnuts. We licked the plate clean! This is a winning combination, no matter who your breakfast partner is – I know I’ll be sharing them with my Mum (my original Valentine) for breakfast soon!
This batter makes enough for four, but since we are only two pancake eaters in our house (Penny’s more of a kibble girl) I freeze the extra cooked and cooled pancakes and then they are ready for truly lazy Sundays when I want to just roll out of bed to a plate of ready-made sweet Sunday happiness. Even out of the freezer they are still fluffy and soft, and just right for topping with whatever your heart (or your sweetheart) desires. I bet these would be just as gorgeous spread with a little raspberry jam if you don’t feel like making the chocolate sauce, or for Nutella for a double hazelnut treat!
These would be just the ticket for a Valentine’s Day treat for your sweetheart, or a breakfast surprise for Pancake Tuesday tomorrow!
Folks, love is in the air, so let’s make some pancakes, and celebrate those who fill our hearts with happiness and our lives with joy and meaning. Whatever Valentine’s Day means to you, we all have someone who’s love is worth celebrating. 
Hazelnut Pancakes with Chocolate Sauce and Raspberries
| Gluten Free | Makes about 12 x 3-inch pancakes
Ingredients:
- 70 grams hazelnut meal
- 70 grams buckwheat flour
- 70 grams white rice flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (gluten free if required)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 large eggs, separated
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the chocolate sauce
- 4 squares dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons cream
To serve
- Fresh raspberries
- Toasted hazelnuts
Method:
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, and add hazelnut meal. Toast for a few minutes until fragrant, stirring often. Remove from heat.
- In a large bowl whisk together buckwheat flour, hazelnut meal, white rice flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons caster sugar.
- In a separate medium-size bowl whisk the egg whites with the remaining tablespoon of caster sugar until soft peaks form. I used a hand whisk for this (great workout) but you can use a handheld mixer if you’d prefer.
- Measure milk into a small jug, add egg yolks and vanilla bean paste and beat until combined.
- Add milk mixture to flour and beat until a smooth batter forms.
- Add the egg whites and fold in with a large spoon until completely incorporated.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.
- Using a large ice cream scoop portion out pancake batter onto pan. Remember to leave plenty of room between pancakes for spreading and flipping.
- Cook for two minutes on one side. Small bubbles will begin rising to the uncooked surface. Once most of these have popped, flip the pancake and cook for another minute on the second side. Transfer to a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest of the batter.
- Once all pancakes are cooked serve chocolate sauce, berries, and hazelnuts.
- To make the chocolate sauce simply warm the cream in a small microwave safe bowl for 30 seconds. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until smooth.
