Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce – Chocolate and caramel is a match made in heaven and makes for a special breakfast treat. The soft, light, fluffy, moist buttermilk pancakes are the perfect sponges for the sweet and lightly salted caramel sauce.
Chocolate. It’s what’s for breakfast.
It’s even better when paired with homemade salted caramel sauce.
This isn’t the type of breakfast you’d make every day, but it sure is a good one when you do.
It’s my birthday today and they’d make a nice birthday breakfast. But I made them last weekend and they’re long gone.
The pancakes are light, soft, and fluffy from the buttermilk. They’re anything but lead balloons, a major gripe I have with many pancakes.
And if you can get the pancakes to look like Pac-Man, they taste even better. I loved that game and could play it for hours, but I digress.
The pancakes appear fairly dark because I used Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder, but they look darker and more intense than they actually taste. I love my dark chocolate, but I don’t want bitter for breakfast.
The chocolate flavor is present, but not overpowering. If you prefer to be overpowered, make these.
The salted caramel sauce is the icing on the cake. Or the drizzle on the stack. If you’ve never made caramel sauce, it’s not a biggie.
I wrote a step-by-step tutorial with Dark Rum Caramel Sauce. Same thing here, just swapping out rum for a bit of sea salt. Or keep the rum.
When making caramel sauce, make sure you’re organized and have everything ready to go. Read the recipe. Then read it again before you turn on the stove. Make sure you know what you’re doing, where you’re going, and what to look for. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes, but before you start playing around with boiling sugar, make sure your ducks are in a row.
And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce.
I kept the pancakes on the smaller side, about 3 inches in diameter, and made 11 pancakes. If you’re keeping them smaller, it’s a 10 to 12 pancake recipe. Or a 6-pancake recipe for larger pancakes.
I’m not a good pancake flipper and smaller pancakes are easier and more manageable to flip.
Feel free to double the recipe, and the extras can be frozen for up to 6 months and warmed in the micro. It’s a nice 60-second hot breakfast option for busy weekday mornings. They’re a smidge rubbery when reheated, but it’s very liveable and easy to overlook because there’s chocolate involved.
I took some of the extra pancakes and smeared peanut butter on them for chocolate-pancake-and-peanut-butter-sandwiches for lunch boxes. Chocolate pancakes trump bread.
The soft, light, moist pancakes are the perfect sponges for the sweet and lightly salted caramel sauce. Maple syrup of course works too, but caramel and chocolate is a match made in heaven.
The caramel is thick, rich, luxurious, and I couldn’t keep my spoon out of the jar.
When I made these over the weekend, they were met with rave reviews from my family.
You can’t go wrong with chocolate for breakfast. Or with caramel sauce.
Enjoy!
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Chocolate Buttermilk Pancakes with Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (I used
- Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional
- 1 cup buttermilk, plus a splash more only if necessary
- 1 large egg
- 2 heaping tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Salted Caramel Sauce (makes 1 cup)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup heavy cream or half and half, I use half and half
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rum, optional
- ¼ cup butter, half of 1 stick, salted or unsalted may be used
- ½ to 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste (or omit salt for regular caramel sauce)
Instructions
- For the Pancakes – In a large mixing bowl, whisk together first 8 dry ingredients (through optional salt); set aside.
- In a large measuring cup or bowl, whisk together final 4 wet ingredients.
- Add wet to dry, and fold gently to combine. Don’t overmix; batter will be lumpy. It’s a thick batter, but if it’s too thick for your liking, add a splash of additional buttermilk to thin it.
- Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray, and place over medium heat.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon that’s been sprayed with cooking spray (helps batter to slide right off), place heaping 2-tablespoon mounds of batter in skillet. Cook pancakes on first side for about 3 minutes, flip and cook on second side for about 2 minutes, or until done. Repeat until all batter is gone, respraying both skillet and scoop with cooking spray as necessary.
- Serve pancakes immediately with butter, syrup, or your favorite topping. If making the salted caramel sauce, place pancakes on a baking sheet and keep them in a preheated 250F oven while making the sauce so they stay warm. Pancakes can be wrapped or kept airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 4 months.
- For the Salted Caramel Sauce – In a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan with tall enough sides to accommodate the mixture when it starts bubbling, combine the sugar and water. Heat over medium-low heat until the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally.
- Increase the heat to medium-high and bring mixture to a boil without stirring. Using caution, use a wet pastry brush or damp paper towel to wipe down any crystals that are clinging to the sides of the saucepan. Failure to remove them could result in a grainy sauce. Boil until the mixture is a deep amber color, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, and using caution, whisk in the cream. The mixture will bubble up vigorously.
- Add the vanilla and optional rum. It will bubble again.
- Stir in the butter and salt to taste; or omit salt for regular caramel sauce. If using table salt rather than Kosher salt, add less because it’s finer-grained and 1 teaspoon of table salt is much saltier tasting than 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt.
- Transfer caramel to a glass or heatproof jar with a lid. Caramel sauce will keep airtight for many months in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Related Recipes:
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Dark Rum Caramel Sauce (gluten-free) – A step-by-step guide for easy at-home caramel sauce that can be used on everything from ice cream to apples. Can be made with or without rum, although I recommend the rum. Add salt to taste
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Seven Minute Microwave Caramels (gluten free) – Almost too good to be true. The best caramels I’ve ever had and will be the only recipe I’ll ever use or need again
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What’s your favorite pancake recipe?
Oh my goodness. These are amazing. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!! I hope you had an amazing day!
Happy Birthday to the most beautiful cookie princess in all the land! Those pancakes are definitely a party-worthy food! And I can’t keep that TJ’s caramel in my house or I would literally drink it.
I know, it’s sooo dangerous to have around. I ate a half jar about 2 weeks ago with a spoon. I felt guilty. But not really :) It was so good!
Holy moly, I want to marry these!!! Dark cocoa and salted caramel AND pancakes? Yeah, I’m done. Doesn’t get better than that. Hope you had a beautiful birthday beautiful girl! :
Thanks for all your sweet words here, on Twitter, Instagram, etc. You’re amazing!
Looks amazing as always Averie!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERIE! What a perfect treat. I hope you day is filled with friends, family, peanut butter, and all of your favorite things. Sending you warm birthday wishes and a big hug too :)
Happy Birthday…I love that the pancakes are smaller, big ones get too soggy. Have a great day.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERIE! I hope you are having a wonderful and relaxing day :) You deserve it with all of your hard work! How did you know I was having a major chocolate craving? You must be psychic or something…..it’s funny because I just commented on Sally’s Baking Addiction on how she said “I never have a problem getting out of bed if chocolate is for breakfast!” So true! And now I have both hers and your new recipes to try! I’ll comment again when I get to make these. They look divine.
Those chocolate pancakes look amazing! I’ve never had any pancakes with caramel sauce before, but that sounds super tasty!
Happy Birthday!! I can tell that you are one very hardworking lady… I hope you’ve been able to take a little time for yourself to enjoy your day. I know you’re eating well, for sure! ; )
Happy birthday!
These look insanely good. I used to eat pancakes almost daily. If I went to a restaurant that served b-fast 24 hours, I always got pancakes without even looking at the menu.
Ironically, on MY birthday, my brother requested chocolate chip pancakes! I didn’t get to partake, but these look much better than Bisquik with chocolate chips. No offense to my mom. :D
Good LORD, girl. These look so incredibly mouthwatering, Averie! I would just faint if someone served these to me…
I’m surprised that only 2 tablespoons of coco yield that dark and rich looking batter! these pictures are to drool for!
I want these for my birthday too – actually, better yet, I want them now! Love the caramel sauce on top too!
When I’m given a peculiar look from the hubs when I start topping off breakfast goodies with caramel, you’re just going to have to explain for me. This looks incredible!
*drooool* oh my goodness I want these in my tummy right now and I already ate lunch! Great job Averie, definitely want to try this. Feel free to stop by my link party and share some of your fantastic recipes!
Happiest of birthdays to you, Averie! Hope you have a wonderful day… I think your fam needs to whip up another batch of these beauties to celebrate you! :) Pinned!