These are the pancakes from the reel: thick, fluffy cacao pancakes with a center of melted cacao that pours out the second you tear them open. The trick is a frozen disc of cacao ganache tucked into the batter. It holds its shape while the pancake sets around it, then melts as it cooks.
Seven seconds in the reel, about an hour in real life, most of it waiting for the centers to freeze. Here is the whole thing, in grams and in cups.
What you need (3 thick pancakes)
For the molten centers
- 50 g Alma Cacao (about 4 tablespoons of the small pieces)
- 60 ml heavy cream or full-fat canned coconut milk (¼ cup)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
For the pancakes
- 190 g all-purpose flour (1½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 25 g Alma Cacao (about 2 tablespoons of the pieces)
- 30 g butter or coconut oil (2 tablespoons)
- 1 large egg
- 240 ml milk of your choice, lukewarm (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- A little butter for the pan
The cacao does two jobs here. In the middle it becomes the molten center, and in the batter it is the chocolate. Alma Cacao is whole cacao paste with all its cacao butter still in it, so a splash of warm cream turns it into a silky ganache. If you usually bake with cocoa powder, this post walks through the difference.
How to make them
- Make the molten centers. Warm the cream and maple syrup in a small pan until it just steams. Don't let it boil. Take it off the heat, add the 50 g of cacao pieces, wait 2 minutes, then stir until smooth and glossy. If a few pieces hold out, set the pan back on the lowest heat for a few seconds and keep stirring.
- Freeze them. Line a plate with baking paper and spoon the ganache into 3 rounds, about 2½ inches (6 cm) across. Freeze for at least 30 minutes, until firm enough to lift.
- Melt the cacao for the batter. Put the 25 g of cacao and the butter in a small bowl in a warm oven, or over a pan of hot water, for about 2 minutes. Stir until smooth.
- Mix the batter. Whisk the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg, the milk and the vanilla, then whisk in the melted cacao. Keep the milk lukewarm, because cold milk can set the cacao into specks. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk just until no dry flour is left. A few lumps are fine. Let it rest 5 minutes while the pan heats.
- Build the pancake. Heat an 8-inch (20 cm) skillet, cast iron or nonstick, over medium-low heat and wipe it with a little butter. Pour in about ⅔ cup of batter and let it spread. Take one disc from the freezer, lay it in the center, and spoon about ¼ cup more batter over it until it is completely covered. Work quickly, because the disc starts to soften as soon as it touches the hot batter. Each pancake takes about a third of the batter.
- Cook it low, with a lid. Cover the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, until bubbles pop on top and the edges look dry. Flip and cook 2 to 3 minutes more with the lid off. If the bottom browns before the top sets, turn the heat down. Repeat with the other two discs.
- Stack, tear, pour. Stack the pancakes while they are hot and tear the top one open. The center pours for the first few minutes, then thickens into a fudgy sauce as it cools.
Three ways to change it
- Sweeter. Alma Cacao is 100% cacao with nothing added, so the maple syrup is all the sweetness the center has. Add another teaspoon, or pour maple over the stack.
- Dairy-free. Coconut milk in the centers, a plant milk in the batter, and coconut oil instead of butter.
- Make the centers ahead. Freeze the discs the night before, and in the morning it is just batter and a pan.
A note on the cacao
Alma Cacao is a single-origin cacao from native communities of the Peruvian Amazon: whole cacao paste in small pieces, traditionally fermented, sun-dried, stone ground and made in small batches. Nothing added, nothing pressed out. The same pieces you melt for a cup in the morning go into these pancakes, which is the whole idea. New to it? Start with what ceremonial cacao is.
Common questions
How do you get a molten center in pancakes?
Freeze small discs of chocolate ganache, set one on the batter in the pan and cover it with more batter. The frozen disc holds its shape while the pancake sets around it, then melts as it cooks, so the middle pours when you tear it open.
Can I use chocolate chips instead?
You can, but chips are made to hold their shape in the heat, so they soften instead of pouring. A ganache disc is what gives you a center that flows.
Can I make them ahead?
The centers, yes: freeze the discs up to the night before. The pancakes are best fresh off the pan. If the center has set by the time you eat, a short warm-up melts it again.
Is Alma Cacao sweet?
No. It is 100% cacao with nothing added, so on its own it tastes like deep, unsweetened dark chocolate. The maple syrup in the center and the sugar in the batter do the sweetening.
More from the reels
- Viral High Protein Brownies Made With Whole Cacao
- Viral Cacao Fudge: Warm Brownies Under a Puddle of Melted Cacao
- Two-Ingredient Cacao Truffles
Make a stack this weekend and tear the first one open at the table.
