Lemon Blueberry Pancake Casserole

Prep time: 30 minutes

Soak time: 8 hours

Cook time: 60 minutes

Yields: 6 servings

To make the Lemon Blueberry Pancakes:

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a bowl and whisk to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, and lemon zest.

Slowly stir into the flour mixture. Add the 1/4 cup melted butter and stir gently to incorporate, the batter will be lumpy. Don’t overwork. Let stand for 10 minutes. Gently fold in the frozen wild blueberries right before cooking.

Heat a nonstick griddle over medium high heat. When hot, lightly coat with butter. Drop the batter onto the griddle by 1/4 cup-fulls. Cook until the tops are starting to become covered with bubbles and the edges look a bit dry, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown, another 3 minutes.

To prepare the Lemon Blueberry Pancake Breakfast Casserole:

Lightly grease an 11x7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cut each of the pancakes in half. Stand the pancakes, flat side down in the baking dish until the entire baking dish is filled.

In a large bowl, whisk the cream, milk, 5 eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and 1/4 cup sugar together until combined. Slowly ladle this mixture over the pancakes. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.

To bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the casserole, top with fresh blueberries and bake in the preheated oven until the center is set, 55-60 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Blueberry Maple Sauce

While the casserole is baking, make the blueberry maple sauce.

Place all but 1/2 cup of the fresh blueberries into a small saucepan with the maple syrup and water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer gently until the berries bean to burst and lose their structure, about 10 minutes. The mixture will be thin. remove from the heat, add the reserved fresh berries and cool to room temperature. This sauce will thicken as it cools. Stir any unused blueberry maple sauce in the refrigerator.

To serve:

Divide the butter into small slices and scatter across the top of the casserole. Sprinkle with lemon zest and serve immediately in slices with the Blueberry Maple Sauce or warmed maple syrup.

Recipe credit: CA Grown

Photo credit: Meg van der Kruik for CA Grown