Banana Pancakes

Very soft and fluffy and with the banana taste rounding them out rather than whacking you in the face, these banana pancakes were a great hit for Sunday breakfast this weekend.  They would be a great alternative for pancake day if you aren’t confident about making (and flipping) the traditional sort that you serve with sugar and lemon.  I have to admit that I am guilty of panicking when it comes to traditional pancakes and always make them in advance in case of on the spot disasters.  But these banana pancakes – no problem!

Pancakes and Maple Syrup

I wasn’t sure that I’d like banana pancakes as I am not a great cooked banana fan though I am a recent convert to Banana and Chocolate Chip Loaf but I like these rather a lot.  You can make them vegan (see recipe below) without any problems so that’s brilliant news if you have people with different dietary needs in your house.  I am firmly of the opinion food should bring us together and not drive us apart.  But hey, we are talking about pancakes here so i will keep this light!

If you want to vary this recipe try adding in some chocolate chips or blueberries to the batter, or add some spices – a half teaspoon of cinnamon, cardamom or ginger would be great here. As for the toppings though I love maple syrup, try golden syrup, peanut butter, almond butter, or your favorite fresh fruit all of which would also make yummy toppings

A quick thank you here to my lovely friend Hannah Colville who gave me a masterclass at the beginning of the year in how to make American Pancakes of which these are a type of.  She is an amazing baker and still in her early teens.   Thank you Hannah!

I have to admit that the reason I made these with banana  is because of the Jack Johnson song called, unsurprisingly, Banana Pancakes.   I’d never had them so I was curious.   I’ve made them a few times now and The only knack to making them is waiting till the pancakes have little bubbles (see pic below) all over before turning.

I served the pancakes with crispy bacon and maple syrup but if you can’t face that then serve with some berries and extra sliced banana and yes, don’t worry, you can still have maple syrup 😀

Making Banana Pancakes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 125g plain flour
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 egg, beaten (or 1tbsp ground flax seed and 3tbsp water)
• 225ml milk (soy or oat milk work well if non dairy)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

Pouring over Maple Syrup

Method

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and caster sugar together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl mix egg (or equivalent, bananas, vegetable oil and milk until well combined.  Leave to settle for 5 mins if using the flax seed instead of the egg to give it a chance to gel.
3. Pour the liquid into the flour mix and stir to combine
4. Don’t over mix and remember the batter will look lumpy from the mashed banana
5. Heat a frying pan until hot and put in small ladlefuls of the mixture (my standard size frying pan takes 3 at a time)
6. After 1-2 mins the mix should have bubbles all over the upper surface
7. Turn the pancakes and continue to cook for another minute until done
8. Keep warm until you have used up all your batter making the rest of the pancakes

Lavender the hen going for a drink