Hemp Heart Pancakes with Blueberry Compote

These gluten free, vegan, soy free pancakes will let you give in to your weekend brunch cravings without making you feel like you gave in to temptation.
"Hemp Hearts" are hulled hemp seeds and can be found sold as both. I buy mine in bulk at Whole Foods to save on cost. They are a perfect, incredibly beneficial addition to these but don't stop there. Add them to smoothies or sprinkle them on top of yogurt or salad.

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Hemp Heart Pancakes
serves 3
1 3/4 cup hemp, oat or almond milk
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup hulled hemp hearts
1 banana, roughly chopped
2 tbl maple syrup
1 tbl melted coconut or canola oil, plus extra for cooking
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and blend until thick and smooth.
Grease a hot griddle pan and pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

 Blueberry Compote
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, divided
2 tbl maple syrup
2 tbl water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

Combine the 1 cup of blueberries, maple syrup and water in a small pot and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until the berries have burst. Add the vanilla and salt. Remove from the heat and pour over pancakes. Garnish with the remaining fresh blueberries.

Sweet Potato Blintz with Pecans, Kumquats & Blueberry Compote

Blintz' are thin pancakes similar to crepes with the exception that blintz batter can have yeast in the batter. They can be sweet or savory and filled with just about anything you can imagine. For the sake of not standing over the stove making one blintz at a time, I made a baked blintz which was incredibly simple to make and resulted in the same soft, fluffy layers you would get if you made them one by one.

Two layers of sweet potato blintz pancakes baked around pecan cream cheese filling with blueberry compote and kumquats.

Sweet Potato Blintz
serves 4
1 small sweet potato
1/2 cup plus 2 tbl almond milk
1/4 cup water
2 tbl canola oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 oz firm, silken tofu
1/2 cup plus 2 tbl all-purpose flour
1 tbl organic brown sugar
1 tbl baking powder

Preheat the oven to 425. Prick the sweet potato with a fork and roast directly on the oven rack for 45 minutes or until fork tender. Peel and place cooked potato in a food processor.
Reduce the heat to 350. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
Add the milk, water, oil, vanilla and tofu. Blend until smooth. Add the flour, brown sugar and baking powder.  Blend until smooth.
Pour half of the batter into the dish and bake for 10 minutes until just set.
Spread all of the pecan cream filling on top then top with the remaining blintz batter. Bake for 30 minutes until firm.
Let cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Pecan Cream Cheese Filling
1 cup toasted pecans
6oz vegan cream cheese
3 oz firm, silken tofu
1/4 cup plus 2 tbl organic light brown sugar
1 tbl orange zest
1 tbl orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt

Blend the pecans in a food processor for 3-4 minutes until they are finely ground. Add the cream cheese, tofu, brown sugar, zest, juice, vanilla and salt. Blend until smooth.

Blueberry Compote
2/3 cup organic cane sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 tbl cornstarch
10 oz frozen blueberries, thawed
4 kumquats, thinly sliced

Combine the sugar, water, orange juice and cornstarch. Whisk until smooth. Bring to a boil and cook for 2-3 minutes until thick. Add the blueberries and simmer 5 minutes more. Garnish the blintz with sauce and kumquat slices.

Sweet Lemon Biscuits with Blueberry Sauce, Coconut Cream and Tangerine Butter

Even though I served this for breakfast, this simple, sweet plate could easily be served for dessert.

Flaky, tart biscuits studded with lemon, sandwiched around sweet blueberries with coconut cream and tangerine butter.

Sweet Lemon Biscuits with Coconut Cream

1 3/4 cup ap flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 cup organic cane sugar, plus more for sprinkling
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one lemon
3 tbl earth balance vegan butter, cold and cubed
3/4 cup soy creamer, plus more for brushing
1-15oz can coconut cream, chilled
3 tbl organic powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 375.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add the butter and use your hands to cut into the flour until it is pea sized. Add the creamer and gently mix into a ball of dough. Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough until it is 3/4" thick. Use a circle cutter to cut 6- 4" biscuits.
Place on a greased baking sheet and brush with creamer. Sprinkle with sugar and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

Whip the chilled coconut cream, powdered sugar and vanilla together until on high speed for 5 minutes until slightly thick. Pour over biscuits with blueberry compote.

Blueberry Compote
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 tbl cornstarch
3-4 tbl organic cane sugar, depending on sweetness of the berries
3 tbl water

Toss berries with cornstarch and sugar. Add the water and bring to a boil in a small pot. Boil for 5 minutes until the mixture thickens and the berries cook down.

Tangerine Butter
1/4 cup earth balance, room temperature
zest of 1 tangerine
1 tbl tangerine juice
1 tbl maple syrup

Combine all of the ingredients and chill to allow the flavors to marinate. Serve over warm biscuits.