Recipe Of The Week: Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Pancakes With Pecan-Oat Crumble

Chances are you have most of the ingredients for these fluffy breakfast cakes hanging around from all your festive cooking escapades. However, once you have a bite of these light pillow-like cakes you will want to make them all year. The pecan-oat crumble adds a burst of toasty cinnamon flavor and the perfect textural crunch.

Pancakes

(makes about 8 medium sized pancakes)

Ingredients
1 large sweet potato or yam, peeled and cubed
1 ½ cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 eggs
¼ cup olive oil
2 Tbsp agave
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
3 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions
1. Place sweet potatoes in a medium pot of boiling water and cook until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes, transfer to a bowl and mash until smooth.
2. In the same bowl as the sweet potatoes, add the almond milk, eggs, agave and vanilla. Whisk until ingredients are well mixed.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and pumpkin pie spice. Pour into the sweet potato mixture and whisk about 2 minutes.  The more air you can whisk into the batter, the fluffier the pancakes will be.
4. Preheat a lightly greased griddle over medium heat. Drop the batter mixture onto the prepared griddle with a ladle, flipping with a large spatula once the surface begins to bubble.  They cook in about 90 seconds per side.
5. Serve with the pecan-oat crumble on top.

RELATED: Roasted Apple Gluten-Free Pancakes Recipe

Crumble

Ingredients
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup whole oats
1 ½ Tbsp real maple syrup
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt

Directions
1. Toss all ingredients together in a large bowl and add to a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Toast for about 20 minutes, tossing every couple of minutes. Turn heat down if the mixture starts to burn.
3. Serve over the sweet potato pancakes.

More recipes from Jessica Cerra.

Jess Cerra is the owner of Fit Food by Jess, a private chef and catering company in Encinitas, Calif. Jess recently launched Harmony Bar, and all natural gluten-and soy free bar designed to tasted like a soft baked cookie. She is an ex-professional XTERRA triathlete and mountain biker, and current elite amateur road cyclist for the SPY GIANT RIDE p/b MRI Endurance team. Follow Jess’ recipes on her “Fit Food by Jess” Facebook page, as well as the “Harmony Bar” Facebook page. Also on twitter @fitfoodbyjess and @harmonybars.