Buckwheat banana pancakes

Pancakes for me are the perfect lazy morning comfort breakfast, something to linger over with a steaming cup of coffee or hot chocolate. These are perfect for me as they are both vegan and gluten-free. Being fairly new to cooking with buckwheat flour I must admit I was a little worried they would be too heavy, but they are gorgeously fluffy, with a perfect texture.

I much prefer the American fluffy style pancakes over the thin crepes, I find the texture and thickness of these much better. Stacked on a plate, lovely and warm and just waiting to be covered in the topping of your choice.

Buckwheat banana pancakes

Preparation Time 10 Minutes
Cooking Time 5 Minutes
Makes 8-12 pancakes

Vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan, egg-free, dairy-free and nut-free

Ingredients

Serves 4 (makes 8 pancakes)

1 banana
1 cup of buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 cup of soya or almond milk
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1 tsp orange or lemon zest
1/2 tsp mixed spice or cinnamon
coconut oil to cook

Instructions

In a bowl place the dry ingredients and mix them together thoroughly. Add the mashed banana, vegan milk and maple syrup, whisk in the zest, then again until you have a thick pourable batter.

2. Add a little oil to a non-stick heavyweight frying pan with a little coconut oil. Then add about 1/4 of a cup of batter to the pan. If you have a large pan you can do a few at a time. Cook the pancakes until small bubbles appear on the top of the pancake. Flip over and cook for roughly 2 minutes.

3. Keep doing the same until all the batter has been used up. Grease the pan each time you add a new batch. To keep the cooked ones warm, cover them with a kitchen towel.

They are then ready to be devoured. Serve with some sliced bananas, a sprinkle of blueberries and lashings of maple syrup.

4. If you want a more uniform shape to your pancakes, maybe to impress, I find placing a greased metal pastry ring in the pan. Pour the batter into the middle. Making sure you don’t add too much batter. Once the bubbles appear remove the ring and flip. I use spray oil to coat the inside of the ring each time.

Notes

This batter makes a little too many pancakes for me to eat in one sitting. I have left the batter in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days. For me, I tend to freeze them ready-made in batches of 2. Place a slip of baking parchment between them. Take from the freezer, wrap in foil and warm through in the oven, delicious. It is comforting to know I have a stash of these in the freezer ready for a lazy day.

If you make this, don’t forget to tag me on Twitter as @veganalchemist1 or on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/thegfveganalchemist I love seeing your versions of the recipes. I would love to hear your comments too.

Buckwheat banana pancakes