Chocolate espresso pancakes are the final batch of Sunday pancakes that I will be making before we head home for vacation. It’s sad to leave since summer has just arrived, but I’ll be heading back to loads of comfort food (that is good for the heart, neh, not so good for the waistline). But who am I kidding, life has changed quite a bit since I have become a mother. I’d rather be having a good time with my family than worrying about getting into my bikini. My priorities have slightly changed, especially since eating is one thing my son and I love to do together. (The sacrifices of parenting, lol!).

So just one more weekend and a couple of days to go. It has been a hectic few weeks, and I can’t wait to just have some downtime, even though I know it will be freezing most of the time. My parents live in a small town in the Free State in a very old house with high ceilings, so the number of heaters and blankets you must pack on is ginormous. My biggest concern, of course, is my son. He just had the worst week and I can’t bear having a sick baby (again) when we go to visit! So, I will go to all lengths just to make sure he is happy and healthy…

The upside to all of this is me seeing my family, getting some rest, shopping (yes) and diving into the South African hospitality. I am looking forward to seeing a movie in an actual movie theatre where they show the movie in English. Eat popcorn and then having dinner, where I don’t have to try to explain that I don’t want any fries or that I want this or that with my meal. I mean, I am a specific kind of person and Woolworths just knows that I am all about people – generous portions, healthy portions. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the hot drinks. Everything is on my wish list.

I am always thinking about food and will probably dream about food on the way there when I am faced with an aeroplane meal staring me down. There are so many things I dislike about flying, but not sleeping is the worst for me. So, figures I will be pretty out of it. My husband is so lucky, he can fall asleep mostly anywhere. We just hit a bit of turbulence or the not so nice person in front of me leaves their screen on all night, and I tend to stay awake… It’s excruciating. Oh, and the 11 kg toddler on my lap doesn’t help. So, I will be ready to take things slowly and take two days to recover after the flight, because I have a whole month of this before we come back. Then after the four weeks, we are going on vacation somewhere for a couple of days in peak summer vacation time… I just need some sunshine before winter starts up again – and feels like forever in my petit ville in-between the mountains.

But, no complaining, because vacation and chocolate is such a good combo…

Chocolate espresso pancakes

30 minutes preparation time
20 minutes cooking time

Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients

1 cup gluten-free flour
2 heaped tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. espresso powder
1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
⅓ cup apple puree or mashed banana
1 tsp. vanilla essence
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt

Fresh fruit like figs, peaches (which I lightly fried in coconut oil and honey) and berries

Chocolate sauce

1 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. honey
1½ tbsp. cocoa powder

Method

Mix all the pancake ingredients except the fruit together and let it sit for about 30 minutes or so before frying in coconut oil.
Use the same pan to fry the peaches in coconut oil and honey.
Microwave the chocolate sauce ingredients for about a minute and a half and then pour over the pancakes when it’s serving time.

Extras

Chopped hazelnuts, shredded coconut, and I always love adding coconut cream to my pancakes, so that is an add-on that I definitely would vouch for!