I’m not a huge fan of winter. Sure it’s fun to see the first few snowflakes of the year, go on our yearly ski trip and make our token snowman, but aside from that, count me out. In my mind, winter is nothing but slush, grey and glacial winds, and then spring happens.

That being said, there’s one little part I can’t resist. The trip to the chalet with friends, the sitting around the fireplace with slippers on, the dog asleep on the rug, the game of cards being played, my friends Julie-Anne reading a book, me writing and sipping on a glass of wine.

Come morning, we gather in the kitchen and drink  coffee. We do cross-word puzzles as the fire crackles. Then I make us all a nice breakfast filled with love.

Serves: 6 to 8 pancakes

Preparation time and waiting time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 cup (250 ml) all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. (10 ml) baking powder
  • 1 ½ tbsp. (23 ml) brown sugar
  • ½ tsp. (2 ml) salt
  • 2 pinches thinly grated tonka bean*
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 cup (150 ml) buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp. (100 ml) cooked butternut squash
  • 1 noisette butter
  • ¾ cup (175 ml) plain sweetened Activia yogurt
  • To taste liquid honey
  • To taste sunflower seeds, shelled and unsalted

PREPARATION

  1. In a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, brown sugar, salt and tonka bean.
  2. Crack the egg over the dry ingredients, add the buttermilk, then whisk vigorously.
  3. When the mixture is smooth, add the butternut squash.
  4. Let the mixture sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  5.  Preheat oven to 212°F (100°C).
  6. In a non-stick pan, melt a bit of butter over medium-low heat. Wipe any excess butter with paper towel (too much butter means not-so nice-looking pancakes).
  7. Using a ladle, spoon in a bit of the mixture onto the pan. Do not spread. Cook over low heat until small bubbles start forming. Flip the pancake over and cook for another 30 seconds. Transfer into the dish in the oven, then repeat steps 5 and 6 until end of mixture.
  8. When all the pancakes are cooked, garnish with Activia plain sweetened yogurt, a touch of honey and a few sunflower seeds. Comfort guaranteed.

*Tonka beans are the seeds of the cumaru tree. We grate them thinly like we would nutmeg. I would say the bean tastes somewhere between vanilla, cream and nutmeg. You can find it whole and dried in some natural food stores, although I recommend Épices de Cru—it is second to none. You can drop by one of their stores, or place an order online.

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