Vampire Pancakes

I suspect that vampires aren’t big breakfast-eaters. They’re probably more of the midnight snack type. This is precisely why I was inspired, as I was looking for a late-night snack during an evening of pre-Halloween scary movie watching, to make these vampire pancakes. These are buttermilk pancakes made with a red, raspberry jam filling that oozes out when you cut in for a bite.

The pancakes are quite easy to make. You start with a fairly standard pancake batter with a little bit of vanilla extract thrown in and pour some onto a preheated griddle. Next, you add a dollop of raspberry (or other red-colored) jam to the center of the pancake as it cooks. It’s a good idea to try and spread out the jam as you place it on the pancake, even putting several little dollops. At this stage, the pancake batter is too delicate to stand up to being spread with jam, and it’s really nice if the jam fills up as much of the pancake as possible. Top the jam with some more batter to cover it completely and cook as you would a regular pancake.

When the pancakes were fresh off the griddle and the jam was still warm, they were moist and tender, with a nice ooze to the filling.  You can taste the vanilla and buttermilk in the pancakes alongside the jam. These pancakes were sweet enough that they didn’t need any additional syrup or toppings before serving, but whipped cream might be a nice touch if you want to serve a little on the side.

I used the same technique that I’ve used on my Vampire Cupcakes and Vampire Cookies to add bite marks to these pancakes before serving. I’m sure that any vampires out there would approve, even if they might prefer a different flavor of filling for their portion.

Jam-Filled Vampire Pancakes
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
approx 1/3 cup red jam of your choice

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
Preheat a lightly greased griddle or frying pan to medium-high. When a drop of water skitters on the surface, it is ready.
Drop a scant 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle. Place about 3 tsp jam in the center of the pancake. Cover with a bit more pancake batter – just enough to hide the jam. Cook until first side is golden, then flip and brown the second side.
To make vampire bites, use a toothpick to make fang marks and mark each with a drop of jam.
Serve immediately.

Serves 3-4