Red Velvet Pancakes
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Red velvet pancakes for two is a sweet breakfast idea for Valentine’s or Mother’s Day. Make this recipe for your sweetie or favorite person!
On holidays like Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, a special meal made from scratch can be a unique, personal and thoughtful gift. And what could be more appropriate than a stack of red velvet heart shaped pancakes for two?
If you aren’t in the mood for a sweet breakfast idea, then serve them for an afternoon brunch or dessert instead!
If your favorite person doesn’t care for pancakes, there’s a solution for that as well. Stick with the red theme and make red velvet waffles instead!
Or, for a savory option, woo them with a dinner of perfectly grilled ribeye and Fresh Lobster Bisque.
What are red velvet pancakes?
Believe it or not, the bright red stack of sweetness actually starts with a good old fashioned buttermilk pancake recipe!
To that base, three special ingredients are added to create a red velvet batter; cocoa powder, red food gel, and apple cider vinegar.
So although they have a bright red color, these pancakes actually have a chocolate flavor!
I hear you out there. Why do you add vinegar? Well, it may surprise you to know that vinegar is a very common ingredient in baking recipes. This is because hen it combines with baking soda (als very unsweetened cocoa powder combines with an acid, it sparks a chemical reaction that creates carbon dioxide.
As a result, those carbon dioxide bubbles lift the batter, causing the pancakes to be even fluffier!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Bring ingredients to room temperature.
Approximately 15-30 minutes before you mix the pancake batter, remove the eggs and buttermilk from your fridge.
There are two important reasons for using room temperature ingredients.
First, you need the buttermilk at room temperature to prevent it from hardening the melted butter as you whisk them together.
Also, red velvet pancakes are essentially miniature versions of red velvet cake. Anyone who does a lot of baking will tell you that to create a light, moist cake requires proper incorporation of the ingredients.
When eggs are cold, the molecules in egg whites are very firm. As they warm up, the molecules loosen, making the egg white easier to incorporate with the other ingredients in the batter.
- Substitute for red food coloring
Red beet powder is a good substitute for red food coloring. This option is great when consuming food dye is a health issue or concern.
- Keep the skillet greased as you cook.
My gramma would melt a dab of Crisco lard into her skillet to cook the pancakes in, and she would add more every 3-4 pancakes. She used to say that it helps give the pancakes a golden color better than butter, which tends to burn in a hot skillet.
- Creating heart shaped pancakes
When you pour the batter into the hot skillet, use a metal measuring cup. This way, you can use the bottom of the cup to smooth the batter into 4 to 5-inch circles, or to form heart shaped pancakes for two.
Of course, creating red velvet pancakes for two is optional, but it’s a sweet Valentine’s Day breakfast idea.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you keep pancakes warm without them becoming soggy?
If you will be making a large batch of pancakes, a warm oven is a great place to keep them after cooking them. Just set the oven temperature to its lowest setting. For most ovens, this will be 170° to 200°F.
To keep them from becoming soggy, rather than using a plate, set them onto a clean oven rack or a heat-safe cooling rack. This allows the moisture to escape from the bottom of the stack.
Subscribe to my Newsletter, follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube for all my latest recipes and videos.
Red Velvet Pancakes
Ingredients
Glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese softened (room temp)
- 4 tbsp butter softened (room temp)
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup whole milk (room temp)
Batter
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups buttermilk (See Note 1)
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp red food coloring
Instructions
- Whip the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth. Carefully beat in the confectioners’ sugar, then add the vanilla and milk. Beat until the glaze is smooth. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Beat the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and vinegar together in separate bowl until smooth, then stir in the red food coloring (See Note 2). Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Heat a cast iron pan, griddle, or non-stick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray or a dab of butter. (See Note 3). Use paper towel to wipe the butter and coat bottom of skillet.
- Pour 1/3 cup batter into the middle of the skillet. I use a 1/3 cup measure as we want a 1/4 cup batter per pancake and not all pours out as batter is thick (See Note 4).
- Look for bubbles to rise to the pancake surface, flip and cook the other side until golden brown.
- Remove from skillet and keep warm. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve with butter, glaze or syrup of choice.
Notes
- Have buttermilk at room temperature so melted butter does not harden as you whisk batter.
- Red beet powder can be substituted for the red food coloring if that is a health issue for you.
- My gramma used a dab of Crisco lard to melt and cook the pancakes in every 3-4 pancakes. She said it made them brown better than butter.
- When pouring the batter into a hot skillet, be sure use the bottom of the measuring cup to smooth out in a circular motion the 4-5 inch pancake.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
These are perfect for Valentine’s Day! SO delicious!
My kids are going to love this recipe! I can’t wait to give this a try!
Such a great way to start the day!! These red velvet pancakes are incredible!!
What an amazing breakfast treat!! I can’t wait to try this!! YUM!
This Red velvet pancakes for two is couldn’t look any more perfect!
What a great way to start the day! My family will go crazy over these pancakes!
First of all, just give me a straw for that glaze! Swooning. And how sweet will these be fore Valentine’s Day breakfast!