Green Tea & Chocolate Heart Pancakes with Pistachios & Chocolate

Green tea pancakes had been in my mind for a long time but they just keep on getting sidestepped in favor of other recipes in my long list of recipes to try.  Even if I had been cooking like a madwoman, my list never diminishes in number.  In fact, I think it keeps on growing and growing.  There are just too many delicious inspirations everywhere I turn.  Even my daughter's Teletubbies & the grass with the snow on it inspired me to cook.  I think it's an urgent call for relaxation.

After a long time, I finally approached my green tea pancakes and thought of making some chocolate pancakes to keep them company. I like venturing with different garnishes but I usually return to the basic and classic maple syrup. To kick away the boring part of me, I thought of using Modican chocolate spread and Bronte pistachio cream sprinkled with crushed pistachios (Still from Bronte. I did a mad shopping in Sicily last summer!) and chocolate flakes.  The colors matched and the blending of flavors was very good too.   There, that is more interesting than maple syrup isn't it? 

As a final touch, I grabbed my boxes of cookie cutters, rifled through snowflakes, butterflies, flowers, teapots, letters, animals, leaves (My God, how much cookie cutters do I have?) and ended with up with the most interesting shape - a heart.  Well, Valentine's Day is coming up, so it's an opportune time anyway.   I also took out my airplane cookie cutter for the kids.  Just in case.  It's just a tiny hope that the kids will eat the green tea pancakes.   Green food repels the dynamic duo from the kitchen table. 

The pancakes are very easy to do, are toothsome and don't they just exude gaiety (and love)?  C'mon, it's Valentine's.  For the Nutella lovers out there, replace the Modican chocolate spread and enjoy it more!  I would have used Nutella too if I like it.  Yes, I am for real and I am quite embarrassed to say it.  I think I am the only one in the world who doesn't like Nutella because I have not met anyone yet like me.  When I tell people that I don't eat it because it's too sweet, they give me a blank look like what I just said did not register.  Then when it finally registers, they give me an incredulous stare.  It never fails.  Those are the two steps in dealing with a Nutella non-believer.   And to think I am even writing about this on Nutella Week.   Shame on me. 

But I am not here to discuss about Nutella.  I used Modican chocolate spread which had been one of my best discoveries at the airport of Catania in Sicily last summer.   I already love Modican chocolates and to see them in spreadable form was too enticing that of course I couldn't resist.  Truth be told, I grabbed the jar with too much excitement that I held on to it dearly until the cashier.  Precious little cargo, watch out!  Recently, I used the Modican chocolate blocks in a Chocolate Rice Porridge which you can find here. 

After I cut out the shapes, I was left with a lot of pancakes that I couldn't use anymore to cut more shapes.  They looked like a hill of abandoned misshapen pancakes.  I couldn't let them go to waste.  I put them in the mini chopper and zing!  I had a couple of bowls of instant green tea and chocolate pancake sprinkles that I immediately tried out with a scoop of pistachio ice cream.  Can you believe that it actually came out delicious?  My husband and I enjoyed it like how we enjoyed the pancake hearts.  It's a simple and delicious recipe and nothing is wasted which is important. 

This was a pre-Valentine treat I surprised my husband with and he loved the idea, the pancakes and the ice cream.  I'm not really a baker so this is one little gift that I was able to create with patience and love for pre-Valentine's Day.   

I am five days ahead, but just the same, I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's Day. 

Tablespoon = cucchiaio.
Green tea = te' verde (can also be the verde).
Chocolate = cioccolato.
Pistachios = pistacchi.

I hope you are enjoying learning these words as much as I do.

Green Tea & Chocolate Heart Pancakes with Pistachios & Chocolate

Ingredients:

Makes about 6 pancakes

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon soft butter + knob of butter for the skillet
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon Matcha green tea powder
• chocolate spread (or Nutella)
• pistachio spread (or anything that you have)
• ground pistachios
• chocolate flakes

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, milk, salt, sugar, baking powder, butter & egg in a blender and blend until smooth.   You can also whisk the mixture manually in a bowl.
2. Divide the pancake mixture in two equal parts.  Put them in separate bowls.
3. In one bowl, whisk the cocoa powder until fully amalgamated with the pancake mixture.  Mix the green tea powder in the other bowl of mixture.
4. Rub a piece of butter on the skillet.  Take away excess by wiping it away with a kitchen paper towel.  Warm up skillet.   Ladle some of the pancake mixture on the skillet.  When it starts to move easily on the skillet, cook the other side.  Repeat until mixture is finished.
5. When cooked, put one pancake on a plate and cut shapes with a cookie cutter.  In my case, I used a heart cookie cutter and I was able to make 3 hearts per pancake.  The amount of mini pancakes depends on the size and shape of the cookie cutter that you use.
6. With the green tea hearts, spread some chocolate spread on one side.  Sprinkle with crushed pistachios on top.
7. With the chocolate hearts, spread some pistachio spread on one side.  Sprinkle some chocolate flakes on top.
8. For the remaining pancakes that you are not using anymore, put them in an electric chopper.  You can use them as garnish for ice cream.  I used them to garnish some pistachio ice cream along with crushed pistachios & chocolate flakes.