Carrot Cake Pancakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Drizzle and Toasted Pecans

For the pancakes: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spices, baking soda and sea salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla in a large bowl. Add the carrots and orange zest, if using, and mix until smooth. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Fold in the ginger and pecans, if using, and mix until just combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 3 hours.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Coat the skillet with cooking spray or brush with melted butter. Spoon 1/4 cup mounds of the batter onto the skillet, spreading with a spatula. Cook until the tops are covered with bubbles and the edges look cooked, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip the pancakes over and cook until the bottoms are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Repeat with the remaining batter. Keep the cooked pancakes warm in the oven on a baking sheet, if desired.

For the maple-cream cheese drizzle: Combine the cream cheese, maple syrup and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment until combined, about 2 minutes.

To serve: Stack the pancakes on a plate and drizzle with the maple-cream cheese drizzle. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or pecans, if using.