Sweet Potato Pancakes with Rose Petals

Gluten-Free · Refined Sugar-Free · Dairy-Free Option · Vegan Option

There is something about a baked sweet potato that I have always loved. Leave it in the oven long enough and it seems to make its own caramel, becoming soft and deeply sweet without asking us to do very much at all.

These little pancakes grew from that love.

They are thin and tender rather than tall and fluffy, with a little earthiness from the oat and almond flour and just enough sweetness from the sweet potato itself. I like them small, cooked in a little ghee until the edges begin to turn golden.

Then comes the part that makes breakfast feel a little more beautiful: fresh berries, toasted pumpkin seeds, coconut, perhaps a spoonful of cashew cream, and a scattering of rose petals over the top.

Nothing too terribly complicated. Just breakfast made with a little attention.

Makes about 10 small pancakes.

What You’ll Need

For the Pancakes

• ¾ cup gluten-free oat flour

• ¼ cup superfine almond flour

• ⅓ cup smooth mashed baked sweet potato

• ¾ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1½ tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 extra-large egg, or flax egg

• ¼ cup warm water, plus more as needed

• Ghee or coconut oil for cooking

• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon or cardamom, optional

To Serve

• Fresh berries

• Shredded coconut

• Toasted pumpkin seeds

• Fresh culinary rose petals

• Cashew cream

• Quality maple syrup

• A few fresh mint leaves, if you have them

Let’s Make the Pancakes

In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, almond flour, baking powder, and sea salt. If you are adding cinnamon or cardamom, stir that in here as well.

Mash the baked sweet potato until it is very smooth, then add it to the dry ingredients along with the olive oil, egg, and warm water.

Stir gently until everything comes together. Add a little more warm water as needed until the batter is soft and pourable. Sweet potatoes vary quite a bit in moisture, as does oat flour, so I find it better to let the batter tell me what it needs rather than becoming too attached to an exact amount of water.

Warm a skillet or griddle over medium heat with a generous spoonful of ghee or coconut oil. Spoon the batter into small rounds and cook until the bottoms are golden and the tops begin to set, then turn and finish the other side.

I tend to keep these fairly small. They are tender pancakes, and they cook and turn more beautifully that way.

Bring Them to the Table

You could stop with a little ghee and maple syrup and have a very good breakfast.

But when I have berries in the refrigerator and roses nearby, I love taking another minute with them.

Pile a few pancakes onto a plate, add fresh blueberries or whatever fruit is in season, scatter over some coconut and toasted pumpkin seeds, and finish with a few fresh culinary rose petals. A little cashew cream is lovely here too.

The rose petals are certainly not necessary, but I love what they do. Against the warm orange of the sweet potato and the deep blue of the berries, they turn an ordinary stack of pancakes into something that makes me pause for just a moment before eating.

And perhaps that is reason enough.

If fresh roses aren’t available, use any edible flower you enjoy. Just be sure the flowers have been grown for culinary use and haven’t been treated with pesticides or florist chemicals.

A Little Ayurveda at the Breakfast Table

One of the things I appreciate about Ayurveda is that it asks us to notice the qualities of what we are eating rather than simply deciding that a food is good or bad.

Sweet potato brings natural sweetness and substance. Oats and almonds make these a little more grounding, while ghee, if you choose to cook them in it, adds richness and warmth.

On a cooler morning, I might add cinnamon or cardamom to the batter and serve them warm from the skillet. When the weather is softer, berries, coconut, mint, and rose can bring a lighter feeling to the plate.

There does not need to be a complicated formula behind any of it. Some mornings we may want berries and flowers. Other mornings a warm stack with a little ghee and maple syrup will be quite enough. The practice, if there is one, is simply noticing.

With love,
Leslie