Gluten Free Chocolate Strawberry Donut Protein Pancakes

These awesome pancakes were NOT the original plan.

You may recall from my last waffle post that I have been wanting a cast-iron waffle maker for some time, and I thought I found a good one online. It finally showed up yesterday, just in time for the new gluten-free, no sugar chocolate protein waffle batter recipe I was ready to try – but unfortunately this waffle iron required an outdoor seasoning process that took hours.

I admit, I tried to do it in my apartment with the door and windows open -

you’re supposed to heat it and let the wax melt off, then wipe the wax down with a paper towel. This is a super messy process that creates an enormous amount of smoke! I’m lucky I didn’t set off the fire alarm in the building! I don’t even know why I tried, I just kept imagining those crisp, chewy, chocolatey waffles.

Next you’re supposed to season the pan with oil and cook it on an outdoor grill for an hour, or until it turns black. Some of the wax and oil dripped onto my stovetop and actually caught on fire – I threw some baking soda on it and put it out – which was exactly when I called it quits.

Now you might be wondering why I would be so stubborn and try to season this cast iron waffle maker in my house – and there are two reasons.

One, I have seasoned cast iron pans in the house before with no problem, and two, it was very hard to give up on my dream of chocolate waffles.

I will make them another day though. In the meantime, I’m shopping for another waffle maker that’s safe for INDOOR use. Will someone recommend a good waffle one that doesn’t have a teflon coating?

I decided to turn my waffle batter into pancakes, and if you have a waffle iron please try these out in it and let me know how they do. I’m going to avoid kitchen fires in the meantime.

By the way, this batter has no added sugar, is completely gluten free, is paleo friendly and has the taste and texture of chocolate donuts

Gluten Free Chocolate Strawberry Donut Protein Pancakes

1 T + 1 tsp coconut flour
1 scoop (33 g) vanilla egg white protein powder (there is a little stevia in the Jay Robb vanilla egg white protein powder – also, egg white protein powder gives this recipe its donut texture. You can use a different protein powder and still make a great recipe, but it will change the texture slightly)
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 T cacao powder
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
3 T almond milk

1. Measure coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder and cacao in a bowl and mix well.
2. Add applesauce, vanilla, egg and almond milk and blend.
3. Heat a medium skillet and coat with cooking spray. Ladle batter into the skillet in 4 equal sized portions.
4. Cook until small bubbles appear in the surface and flip to cook briefly on the other side.
5. Serve with sliced strawberries, unsweetened coconut flakes and cacao nibs for an especially delicious breakfast!

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