Another beaaautiful variation of banana pancakes. I made a similar recipe a week or so ago, but felt like protein pancakes again. This version has more protein in and tastes less like banana though, so is probably a better version. Unless you reaaaaally like the taste of banana, in which case, reduce the amount of protein powder you use.
The recipe is identical to the previous one, I just changed two things. I used more protein powder, so the mixture was thicker and less runny. And I swapped out for my smaller non-stick pan and used no oil.
Using no oil and using a non-stick pan makes a huge difference to how the pancakes look. When you use oil, I have found that the surface of the pancake is more spotty and a mixture of golden brown and pancake colour. This is likely due to how oils react to heat. When you use a non-stick pan and take out the oil, on a low heat, the pancake cooks evenly, and the whole surface becomes one solid golden brown colour.
This recipe will give you fluffy, thick, soft HEALTHY pancakes that honestly feel so moreish and decedent. In my previous pancake recipe, I topped it with raspberries, banana, walnuts and cinnamon powder. This time I used blueberries and almond flakes. I prefer almond flakes to the walnuts. But I like blueberries and raspberries equally.
I remember when I first made american style pancakes, they burned because the heat was too high and they weren’t so fluffy (I didn’t understand how baking powders/baking sodas worked back then) Note: You want to use baking POWDER in this dish, not soda. Only ever use soda if you’re adding an acidic element to the dish such as vinegar, lemon, yoghurt or buttermilk, or you’ll get a strong metallic taste.
This recipe is really easy and I love making it because the low heat means I’m not panicked when preparing other things in the morning, because the window between being just right and over cooked is quite large. Because I used the small non-stick pan this time, I did them one at a time and then heat them up in the microwave altogether for 30 seconds at the end to make sure they were all hot.
Ingredients:
- 1 egg
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 scoop, flavourless protein powder (if you didn’t get a scoop with your protein powder, then roughly 4 tablespoons will do)
- half teaspoon baking powder
- tablespoon vanilla extract
- blueberries
- honey/agave/maple syrup
- almond flakes
- cinnamon powder
Method:
- Chop one banana up, put in a bowl and begin squishing that bad boy with a fork.
- Crack one egg into the bowl and mix again. At this point I like to blend it a bit with a hand blender to get rid of any banana lumps. I mean, If that’s your thing, then that’s cool, you do you boo. I just like my pancakes smooth.
- Now you want to mix in your protein powder, baking powder and vanilla extract. Carry on mixing until smoooooth as a baby’s bum (- that’s not a good way of describing pancake mix, but whatev)
- Turn your pan to medium heat for like 30 seconds, then turn it right down to very low.
- Pour in your pancake mix. The size of your pancake is really to do with taste. How big do you want it? I leave the power in your hands here. I usually pour in about 2 heaped tablespoons or something.
- My mix was very thick, so I used he back of my spoon to spread the mix out a little bit more.
- I’m sorry, I didn’t time it again. I promise, I’ll make more effort to do so when my timer arrives this week! BUT, it takes roughly 5 minutes each side. I kind of just wait a little while, several minutes, flip it over, if it’s not golden enough I just flip it again at the end.
- When you flip the pancake, I suggest using your spatula to flatten it out a bit. I do this just to make sure it’s cooked all the way through.
- After another 3-5 minutes plate up or if it needs flipping again, do so.
- Repeat until all the pancake mix is used up.
- Here, I had already microwaved my frozen blueberries for 45 seconds. I microwaved my pancakes for another 20 seconds to heat them all, as the first ones I made where now a little cooler.
- I topped the pancakes with almond flakes for a nice crunch, the blueberries, sprinkled a bit of cinnamon over them and drizzled some honey over them.
Tips:
- Agave, maple syrup and honey are all interchangeable. There are very little differences between the three in terms of nutrition, as they are all natural sources of sugar. Personally, I prefer maple syrup for pancakes (I didn’t have any in for this recipe) but it’s just about taste.
- KEEP THAT HEAT LOW! I put it up to medium to begin, just to get the pan hot, then lower it to the lowest it will go. To be honest, even this way cooks the first side of my pancake a little too quick, but after that, they all cook perfectly.
- If you have a non-stick pan, use that, with NO oil. This is the only way you will get a lovely golden smooth surface. If you see my first pancake recipe, that was with oil on my larger pan, that isn’t non-stick. You can clearly see the difference.
- I’ve read that to replace eggs in baking, you substitute in with flour, oil, baking powder and dairy free milk (to make fully vegan) – I’ll be trying this next time and let you know how it compares. If any of you have already tried this recipe with the method for replacing eggs, that I will post below, let me know how it turned out for you.
Egg replacement:
To replace 1 egg: 2 tablespoon flour + 1/2 teaspoon oil + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder + 2 tablespoons liquid (milk, cream, buttermilk, diluted yogurt, or dairy free alternatives like coconut milk, soy milk, etc) beaten together until smooth.
Eat. Drink. Laugh. Love
C xx
