Fruity Pancake Muffins

You asked for them and they’re here. SPC readers please give a warm welcome to the Pancake Muffin. Since we’re former magazine editors, we usually have an editorial calendar we like to follow when it comes to delivering recipes to the site. It’s how we work. We post recipes according to a plan we set up for ourselves a few months ago. However, lately, we’ve been keeping a looser plan–allowing for us to be more flexible in the kitchen. We still maintain a bit of schedule–understanding that we want to deliver apple recipes in September and pumpkin recipes in October–but we’re not hard and fast about a theme like “Immune Boost Week”. I guess you could say our themes have gotten a lot more straightforward–easy breakfasts, school lunches, snacks, fast dinners. So, as a result, I was left with a little dilemma this week. What recipe do I introduce? I was torn. Do I give them the pancake muffins that we’ve been going steady with since they help us get out the door faster in the morning or do I share the Sweet Potato Shepard’s Pie that I’ve been testing and perfecting since last fall?

So I decided to ask our Instagram friends. In a post the other evening, on a whim, I had our followers weigh-in on the decision. And while there was a lot of interest for the Shepard’s Pie, the clear winner was the Fruity Pancake Muffin. (I gotta say. I don’t blame the lovelies who voted for the pie because this one is a departure from the casserole’s traditional flavours of thyme and bay leaves in a meaty base using tomato paste and instead relies on a spice combination of cumin, chili powder and cinnamon. It’s beyond, and for those who voted for it, it’s coming next week. Promise.) The pancake win kind of wasn’t a surprise for me since there is nothing Instagram loves more than a good pancake or waffle shot, even if it is in the form of a muffin.

I guess the best description for these little darlings is the response our photographer Maya had when she tore into one after photographing them, “Laura, they’ve got the fluffiness of a pancake in a muffin!” They also explode with fruit when you bite into them, especially the ones I fill with blueberries. By dropping a thick slice of banana or a trio of blueberries into the centre, you end up with a oozy burst of goodness with the first bite. It’s also a nice way to feel like you’re enjoying a stack of pancakes covered in fresh cut fruit when you’re in fact flying out of the house with your socks in your pocket. Don’t get me wrong. These are definitely not meant to replace your weekend, syrup-soaked stack of cakers that your family lazily enjoys together. However, they are a straight up satisfying and smile-inducing substitution on a hectic Wednesday morning.