Summer Berry Pancakes...

Since it's starting to look a lot like summer outside, what better way to start the day than with these Summer Berry Pancakes...

You'll have noticed I'm a big fan of pancakes, mainly because I sometimes get bored with eggs for breakfast. If you're sensible about the ingredients you're adding to your pancakes (as well as your food intake for the rest of the day), there's no reason why pancakes can't be a legitimately healthy breakfast...

If you have the time, I really recommend leaving the pancake batter in the fridge for 15-20 minutes before cooking them. This allows the flax seed/ground almonds to absorb some of the liquid & the baking powder to get to work. The extra resting time will give you really light, fluffy & gently risen pancakes...

For the pancakes: 

• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp buttermilk (or coconut milk if you prefer)
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tbsp milled flax seed 
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp GF baking powder

Add all the ingredients to a bowl, whisk well until frothy. As mentioned above, if you have the time allow the pancake batter to rest in the fridge.

Pour heaped spoonfuls of batter onto a hot pan (with a little melted coconut oil).

The pancake is ready to flip when tiny air bubbles appear on the surface.

Repeat until all the batter is used or just make one giant pancake! Yum!

Serve with Greek yoghurt, mixed berry compote (just place 50g of frozen berries in a saucepan with 2 tbsp of water & allow to soften and break apart slightly) and a little toasted unsweetened dessicated coconut & almonds (just toss in a wok over a moderate heat until pale golden... this releases their natural oils and they'll taste awesome!

Orange Chocolate Pancakes...

It's been a while since we've had some GLBTK pancakes! Pancakes are awesome... if you're smart about it, you can make incredible pancakes using only ingredients which support your goals. You know what that means? You can have dessert for breakfast AND it can be healthy! I really wish I knew this years ago...

Chocolate & orange is one of my favourite flavour combinations, so it took a whole lot of restraint to wait and take photos!

For the pancakes: 

• 3 eggs 
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp coconut milk 
• 1 tsp Irish honey
• 1 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined and frothy. 

Pour batter into a hot pan with a little melted coconut oil to prevent sticking. 

The pancakes are ready to flip when tiny air bubbles appear on the surface. 

Serve pancakes warm with Greek yoghurt and orange chocolate sauce. 

For the orange chocolate sauce:

• juice of 1/2 a large orange 
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp Irish honey
• 1 tbsp Greek yoghurt

Bring the orange juice, cocoa, coconut oil & honey to a gentle boil and allow to simmer over a low heat for 2 minutes whilst stirring constantly. 

Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly. (Reserve 1 tbsp of sauce at this point to drizzle over the top of pancakes if desired)

Mix in Greek yoghurt to remaining sauce stirring until just combined. Pour over the warm pancakes. 

To serve:

Top the pancakes with Greek yoghurt, followed by the orange chocolate sauce. Drizzle the reserved chocolate sauce over the top. 

Serve immediately.

Raspberry Stuffed Pancakes

You'd never guess that I liked pancakes! I almost didn't post a recipe for pancakes today, but then realised that would just be odd since it's Shrove Tuesday!

These are a little more time consuming than some of the other recipes I have posted, but they're still actually really simple to make.

For the pancakes:

• 3 eggs 
• 1 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp milled flax seed
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tbsp vanilla whey protein (or sub for ground almonds)
• 2 tsp GF baking powder

Whisk all the ingredients together until combined and frothy. 

Set aside for 10 minutes. This allows the batter to thicken slightly, and gives you time to make the filling. 

NOTE: As you make the filling, preheat the oven to 170d. Place a non stick bun tray into the oven to allow it  to heat up. 

Raspberry filling:

• 75g frozen raspberries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp water

Place the raspberries into a small saucepan. 

Bring to the boil before reducing the heat. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes until the mixture has thickened. 

Set aside to cool slightly. 

To bake the pancakes:

Remove the hot bun tray from the oven. 

Immediately pour 1 tbsp of batter into each hole. 

Top with 1 tsp of raspberry filling.

Finally pour 1 tbsp of batter over the top. 

Place back in the oven for 3-4 minutes at 170d. (All ovens vary so just keep an eye on them... they should be just firm & puffed up. If you over-bake, they will be chewy and dry) 

The pancakes will pop out of the the tray really easily. Serve with hot chocolate sauce 

Banoffi Pancakes

Every Tuesday lately has been Pancake Tuesday on GLBTK, but with Shrove Tuesday coming up this week, I've been making pancakes for everyone and trying out lots of different flavours...

If you're a fan of Banoffi Pie, you will absolutely LOVE these... What's even more exciting is the ice cream... You can actually make homemade ice-cream that tastes incredible, is pretty much instant and leaves out the huge amount of sugar that is contained in most commercial brands of ice cream...

If you have bananas that are almost overripe, this is a perfect way to use them up...Simply slice them and freeze in tin foil until needed.. 

For the ice-cream:

• 1 banana, sliced and frozen 
• 2 tbsp coconut cream
• 2 dried dates, soaked for 2 minutes in boiling water to soften
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to bowl of food processor and pulse until you have a smooth creamy consistency. 

The frozen bananas will freeze the coconut cream & the addition of the dates will add a caramel flavour to your banoffi ice cream.. 

For the pancakes:

• 3 eggs 
• 2 tbsp coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp milled flax seed
• 1 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder

Add all the ingredients to a mixing bowl.

Whisk well until pale, frothy and well combined. 

Pour the pancakes onto a pan, heated with coconut oil. I made mini pancakes (probably cos I've unbelievable patience for cooking), but you can of course make larger pancakes to reduce the cooking time. 

The pancakes are ready to flip when tiny air bubbles form on the surface.

For the chocolate sauce:

• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Melt all the ingredients together in a microwave proof bowl. Heat for 10 seconds at a time, stirring well after each 10 seconds. Once melted (should take about 30 seconds in total), mix well until you have a rich, glossy chocolate sauce. 

Serve the pancakes with ice-cream and chocolate sauce immediately. Honestly, these are unbelievable! I've made them for a few different people, and they've all come really close to licking the bowl...

Cheese & Ham Pancakes....

Something a little bit different to the normal GLBTK sweet pancakes that I've been sharing over the past few Pancake Tuesdays... Some people prefer savoury pancakes, and if I'm honest, I wouldn't have included myself in that category until I made these..  but these are awesome!!

If you'd prefer to rustle up some savoury pancakes on Shrove Tuesday, why not give these a try..

I'm a big fan of cheese and frankly a dish that combines cheese, meat and pancakes is a winner for me!

For the pancakes

• 3 eggs 
• 3 tbsp buttermilk
• 2 tbsp ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• salt & pepper 
• coconut oil

Whisk all the ingredients together until well combined and frothy.

Melt coconut oil in a pan over moderate heat. Pour large spoonfuls of pancake batter on the hot pan.

Flip when bubbles begin to appear on the surface of the pancake.

To serve:

• 35g Gruyère, grated
• 3 slices of cooked ham, chopped 

Fill each pancake with a generous amount of cheese and ham. You could replace Gruyère with cheddar or mozzarella ... any melting cheese will be fantastic.

Lemon & Blueberry Pancakes

You NEED to make these...I had a late breakfast with a friend, and I'm not kidding...he's one of the most intelligent & articulate people I've ever met, and all he could manage as a description of these pancakes was 'Mmmmm... oh my god, mmmm'... and then he went back to ignoring me while he demolished them! 

Pancake Tuesday has turned into a 'thing' in my house lately... give it time though... soon it'll be coming up to Easter and I'll start coming up with inventive ways to eat Easter eggs, without actually eating Easter eggs! 

For the blueberry syrup:

• 50g blueberries
• 2 tbsp lemon juice

Add blueberries and juice to a saucepan. 

Bring to a rolling boil to allow the blueberries to soften, burst open, and release their juices. Simmer over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes to allow the syrup to thicken. 

For the pancakes:

• 2 eggs + 1 egg white (adding the extra white makes these pancakes extra light)
• 2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Add all the ingredients to a bowl, and whisk until pale and frothy. 

Pour large spoonfuls of batter onto a hot pan. Flip when bubbles start to appear on the surface & cook gently. 

Serve with Greek yoghurt & blueberry syrup... 

Unbelievably delicious and so simple to make... Give them a go & share your photos on Facebook :) 

Chocolate Stuffed Pancakes...

As if the mere mention of the word 'pancakes' wasn't enough to excite me, I had to go one better this week... Imagine a fluffy pancake with a chocolate filling... Imagine that gooey Nutella flavoured chocolate filling was hidden in a little pocket in the centre of the pancake... Now imagine for a second, you could make them in less than 15 minutes at home, and they were 100% natural... Awesome right?

These buttermilk pancakes are grain & refined sugar free, light & fluffy and taste absolutely incredible... 

For the pancakes:

• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 3 tbsp buttermilk (or coconut milk if you're DF)
• 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
• 1 tsp raw Irish honey

Filling:

• 2 tsp hazelnut butter
• 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• water*

• coconut oil 

Start by whisking the pancake ingredients together until smooth and frothy. 

Mix the filling together to form a paste. *Depending on the hazelnut butter, you may need to add a little water if it's too stiff.. 

Melt a little coconut oil in a non stick pan. 

Pour batter onto the hot pan, immediately dropping 1/2 tsp of 'Nutella' into the centre of the pancake. Cover this with an extra tablespoon of pancake batter.

Flip pancake when small air bubbles appear on the surface of the pancake. 

Try not to eat the pancakes the second you take them off the pan... They are amazing served with strawberry coulis and Greek yoghurt...

Give them a go... I guarantee you'll love them! The filling really adds to them...gooey chocolate hazelnut bliss in the centre of what's already my favourite treat in the world! These are unbelievably good!