More bloomin' pancakes! I promise that once pancake day is over I will share something that isn't pancakes, but for now I can't get enough of them! These ones are baklava inspired - the sweet, syrupy, nutty filo pastry treat in pancake form. These are thick, soft, fluffy American-style pancakes made with Greek yogurt to keep them extra moist and pack in some protein and they are flavoured with cardamom, cinnamon and chopped nuts with a delicious sweet syrup with hints of lemon, orange blossom water and rose.

I used a combination of chopped pistachios, walnuts and almonds, both in the pancakes and to top them with. The ingredients in baklava vary (though it always uses nuts of some form and filo pastry), but it is these three types of nuts that are used most often, either individually or in combination so I went with that. Baklava is drenched in syrup, sometimes it is made with honey, sometimes not, but I like the flavour of honey so I added some to mine. I also added a touch of lemon juice to cut through the sweetness a little and a dash of orange blossom water and rosewater for a gently floral flavour. I used a little of the syrup in the pancake batter to sweeten them slightly, and a lot more of it to pour over them when serving!

I liked them best topped with a dollop of vanilla yoghurt, a generous scattering of chopped nuts, some pomegranate arils for texture and bursts of tangy sweetness and plenty of the delicious syrup. They make a fantastic breakfast or brunch when you fancy something a little different to basic pancakes and are really easy to make too.

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4.76 from 25 votes

Baklava Pancakes

Makes about 8 pancakes.

Servings 4 people

Author Domestic Gothess

Ingredients

Syrup:

• 150 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
• 50 g (1.75oz) honey
• 150 ml (scant ⅔ cup) water
• juice of ½ small lemon
• ½ tsp orange blossom water
• ¼ tsp rosewater (optional)

Pancakes:

• 200 g (1 + ⅔ cup) plain flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 5 cardamom pods, seeds only ground
• 120 g (½ cup) low fat Greek yoghurt
• 1 large egg
• 180 ml (¾ cup) milk
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp of the syrup
• 30 g (1oz) finely chopped pistachios
• 30 g (1oz) finely chopped walnuts
• 30 g (1oz) finely chopped almonds
• extra chopped nuts, pomegranate and yoghurt to serve

Instructions

• Start by making the syrup. Place the sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a small pan over a medium heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved then bring up to a simmer and cook for about five minutes until reduced and thickened slightly.
  
• Remove from the heat and stir in the orange blossom water and rosewater (if using). Set aside to cool.
  
• To make the pancakes, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cinnamon and cardamom in a large bowl.
  
• In a jug, whisk together the yogurt, egg, milk, olive oil and syrup. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry then mix in the chopped nuts.
  
• Place a frying pan over a low heat and grease with a little bit of butter. Dollop a couple of heaped spoonfuls (I use a trigger ice cream scoop) of the batter into the pan and gently level it slightly (the batter is quite thick). Cook until bubbles appear on the surface then carefully flip the pancake over and cook for a couple more minutes on the other side, until golden.
  
• Remove to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter, greasing the pan as needed.
  
• Serve the pancakes topped with a dollop of yoghurt, plenty of chopped nuts, a scattering of pomegranate arils and a generous drizzle of the syrup.