WARNING:  Health nuts should close the page right now.  This is truly rich and decadent and may be your only meal for a few days ;) .  (Kidding about a few days, but one day should be fine hehe).

These pancakes have been haunting me since I ate them back in October.  It is funny how you can think of a food and want it so badly but you are scared to make it.  That is because you fear it will not live up to the expectations you had of it.  I mean these Bongo Room delights changed my entire perspective on pancakes.  I was never a fan of pancakes.  I would not make them on my own.  Okay, fine if you offered me some I would not say no and probably finish my plate and then take seconds.  But, these pancakes were so decadent and the perfect combination of flavors; sweet and salty, my favorite pairing for desserts.  My husband always makes fun of me, “There you go again adding you fleur de blah blah into the dessert.”  I am not being pretentious about it, believe me, I shudder when I hear food snobs.  I simply like the roundness and that zing salt adds to sweet dishes.  The pretzels also add a great textural and salty element.  I love the CRUNCH!

Also, I did not have a pancake recipe in my repertoire so I put my faith into an Allrecipes recipe.  Now, I am officially a pancake fan with or with out the over the top white chocolate and caramel toppings!  This recipe yielded such fluffy, airy, and cloud-like pancakes that I converted without a fight.  I would eat these plain!

My next mission is to go to the Clinton Street Baking Company in Manhattan for their famous pancakes.  My sister did not speak to me for a few days after I went to Manhattan a few months ago and did not stop there.  See how passionate we are about food.  :)

White Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Pancakes inspired by The Bongo Room (Chicago)

Serves 2

Pancake recipe from here.

Ingredients

3/4 cup milk

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup of crushed pretzels

1 egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix together the milk and the vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes, so that the milk sours.  Meanwhile, combine all the dry ingredients into a bowl.  After the milk has soured, pour it into the dry ingredients and also add the egg and the vanilla extract.  Whisk together all the ingredients until they form a smooth batter.  Mix in the crushed pretzels.  Heat a frying pan or griddle on medium-low heat with some butter or oil.  Take 1/4 cup fulls of the batter and cook on a frying pan or griddle until cooked on both sides, flip when the top of the pancake is covered in bubbles, about 2 minutes per side.

Serve with warm caramel sauce and white chocolate sauce and garnish with crushed pretzel pieces and confectioner’s sugar.

I used Ina Garten’s caramel sauce recipe and added 1/4 teaspoon of fleur de sel and 1 tablespoon of butter at the end.  If you can find a good quality store-made caramel sauce go ahead and use it.  For me, making caramel is daunting and not something I enjoy.  Ina’s recipe is pretty good, but a bit stressful.

For the white chocolate sauce, simply take 6 ounces of good quality white chocolate (I used Callebaut, if you can find Valrhona Ivoire that would be great as well), 1/4 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and melt over a double boiler until smooth.