Every week back home, my younger brother makes pancakes on a Sunday. They are just about the only thing he can cook- and they come topped with crispy bacon (the other thing he can cook), and golden syrup. They also come hand in hand with the kitchen looking like a bombsite. As for myself, I've never really bothered working on my pancake game, until I came across a recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie (link here to the recipe: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2013/06/10/pineapple-upside-down-pancakes/ ), which I decided to have a play around with. Yesterday one of my best friends, and also incidentally a blogger (she covers being allergic to lactose and lactose free recipes- if anyone wants to learn how to use an epipen then head over to her page: http://studentwithallergy.blogspot.co.uk/ ), and we realised we share a favourite pancake topping combo: peanut butter and banana. Several hours later, with that combination in my head, I had these pancakes pre-prepped for this morning...
If you like your pancakes rich but not too sweet, and packed with chocolate and peanut flavour, with a little hint of banana, then these are for you. They also take just minutes: simply whack all the ingredients into a blender, blend until smooth, and then dollop into a pan. I say dollop as this batter is of perfect "dolloping" texture: back home we don't really make crepe style pancakes, but drop scones, as that's what my mum grew up with. These are similar to American style pancakes, but smaller, less artificially fluffy, and definitely not as sweet. Don't let that put you off though: "not as sweet" here isn't code for "completely tasteless". Not to mention that they are packed with ingredients that are great for you, such as wholemeal flour for fibre, oats for slow release energy, banana for one of your "5 a Day", peanut butter for protein and healthy fats, and chia seeds for protein, calcium, and omegas 3 and 6. These will definitely see you through until lunch time (although I'm not one to say no to a coffee or a snack).
With all that said, I hope you enjoy making and tasting these...
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup each of: wholemeal or white flour (plain, not self-raising), plant based (or cow's) milk
- 1 tsp each of: baking powder, vanilla extract, chia seeds (feel free to omit the seeds, this mix will just be a little runnier; you can always reduce the milk by 2tsp)
- 2tsp honey
- 1tbsp each cacao or cocoa, smooth peanut butter (I used the Meridian peanut and coconut butter. You can read a review right here: http://ecstaticallyem.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/meridian-coconut-butters.html . Feel free to use regular peanut butter though)
- 2tbsp oats
- 1 ripe banana, half sliced
- 1/4tsp cinnamon
- Small pinch of salt
- TO DECORATE: Thick Greek yoghurt, remaining banana, cinnamon and/or cocoa or cacao, honey, maple syrup, golden syrup etc...
Alternative for banana haters! Add a small handful of berries to the mix instead, such as blueberries, strawberries, or raspberries.
Method
- Throw all but half of the banana, and optional decorations, into a blender. Blend until smooth.
- Spray a pan with oil, and bring to a high heat.
- Dividing the mix into three, drop spoonful's into the pan. When bubbles start to form on the side facing you, then carefully use a spatula to flip the pancakes. Once browned on both sides plate up, and decorate as desired...
Nutritional Values:
(Entire recipe. Includes the other half banana, but no other toppings)
Calories 423.2
Total Fat 11.3 g
Saturated Fat 11.2 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 2.4 g
Monounsaturated Fat 3.4 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 521.0 mg
Potassium 432.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate 68.4 g
Dietary Fibre 18.9 g
Sugars 18.6 g
Protein 8.1 g
Labels: banana, cacao, chia seeds, chocolate, easy, Food, meridian, pancake day, pancakes, peanut butter, wholemeal
