Best of Breakfast: A Taste of Missouri's Mansion at Elfindale B&B (Recipe: Sweet Potato Pancakes)

With a long and somewhat romantic history, sweet potatoes, once tasted, are a root vegetable not soon forgotten.

Native to tropical America and known to be cultivated in South America prior to Inca civilization, sweet potatoes possess a flavor balanced precariously between sweet and savory, boasting a hint of spice that has earned them entry into a variety of culinary uses, including the following recipe.

Prepared the same way you would cook ordinary potatoes (baked, boiled, roasted or mashed), choose sweet potatoes that are small to medium in size (as larger tubers tend become overly tough & fibrous), as well as firm to the touch and evenly shaped.

Believed to have been introduced to Spain (and subsequently England) via Christopher Columbus, it was rumored Henry VIII preferred his sweet potatoes baked in pie, convinced they enhanced his more amorous endeavors.

Aphrodisiac properties aside, the following Sweet Potato Pancake recipe from The Mansion at Elfindale Bed & Breakfast is both intriguing and delectable. Easy to prepare (using canned sweet potato puree and pre-packaged pancake mix), the following recipe allows you to put  breakfast on the table in a matter of minutes.

A great change of pace for breakfast or brunch, these pancakes are also suited as an unusual dinner side and would pair exceptionally well with turkey or pork in the fall & winter months!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

A "Best of" Inn Cuisine, recipe adapted from The Mansion of Elfindale Bed & Breakfast (via the Sunrise Inn Missouri Cookbook, circa 2002)

• 1 can (15 ounces) sweet potato puree (I recommend Trader Joe's Organic Sweet Potato Puree if you have a store nearby. If not,  your favorite brand will do.)
• 3 cups pancake mix (the Krusteaz line of pancake mixes work well in this recipe)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups milk, add more if necessary

Add sweet potato puree to large mixing bowl and stir. Add pancake mix, eggs and milk, stirring until combined and batter reaches desired consistency. Using a 1/4 to 1/3 measuring cup, pour batter onto hot griddle or skillet pre-warmed over medium heat. Cook until pancakes begin to just set and bubble, flipping gently to finish cooking on the opposite side; pancakes should be lightly golden in color and not browned. Serve warm with your favorite topping or syrup.

Yield: serves 4-6

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Comments

[Tickled Red]

Oh my! Those look heavenly :)

[Monica]

I love that this is from a Missouri Inn! (I'm a St. Louis girl.) This looks like a perfect recipe for me. I've been on a sweet potato kick--they are so dang good for you. I also like to sprinkle granola on my pancake batter after I've poured it on the griddle. That could be a good combo with this recipe.

[Erika Beth, the Messy Chef]

I wish I could make those tonight! They make me ready for fall. If only I had a cozy fireplace in my apartment to snuggle up to and induldge in these pancakes by.

[Meeta]

amazing looking pancakes!