Rainy days are best spent eating comfort food – and nothing says ‘cosy’ quite like warm and fluffy pancakes with cinnamon. The batter does take slightly longer to make than regular pancakes, however, you can make it in the evening and enjoy fresh in the morning. Before we jump to the ingredients, let’s briefly recap how this recipe came to life.
A few months ago I created @receptuknyga to celebrate – finally – moving into a place with my own kitchen [more here], thinking it will be a great way to share how simple being a vegan in Lithuania is. Not taking into consideration that moving is a messy business and changing countries means well… starting over. Plates, cooking equipment, all that jazz. Another revelation was that when you have a full-time job the simple dishes you love and make tend to look less photogenic. It would not be a problem unless you are someone like me who thrives on perfectly aligned content and photography. Poor judgement on my part and a lesson learned – food pictures taken at night are not meant to see the light of day.
Anyhow, instead of forgetting about the idea to share more recipes, I have decided not to be hard on myself and simply publish new posts when there is time and motivation. Once a month, twice a month, throughout the week… either option is better than giving up altogether.
Which takes us to the pancakes! Today was the first time I made pancakes with fresh yeast and a vegan twist. If that does not convince you how fool-proof this recipe is then we can also talk about the fact that ever since going vegan I truly struggled to find a pancakes recipe that would turn out delicious. Until today.
Please also note that for most of the recipes I prefer to use wholemeal or buckwheat flour. The texture is lovely, however, when you substitute the same amount with regular flour the consistency of the batter changes. Which is a lengthy way of saying that if you are using regular flour you will need to adjust the amount of milk accordingly.
Ingredients
For about 15 pancakes or two portions you will need:
- 250ml warm non-dairy* milk
- 30g fresh yeast
- a few spoons of brown sugar
- a cup of wholemeal flour
- 1 small banana
- cinnamon
- 2 apples
- agave syrup – optional
- coconut oil
Instructions
- Warm the milk with emphasis on warm – very hot milk will kill the yeast.
- In a large bowl whisk the yeast and 2 spoons of brown sugar. Mix in the warm milk and whisk until the yeast and sugar fully dissolve. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place somewhere warm for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the apples. I prefer to remove the peel and then either grate or cut the apples into small cubes. Place apple cubes into a separate bowl, top up with cinnamon and sugar (as much as you like) and mix everything together.
- When the yeast milk is ready, in a separate small bowl smash the banana. Mix it with the milk.
- Mix in the flour until the batter feels smooth. If you want a richer texture, add a tiny bit of melted coconut oil.
- If you are preparing the batter for the morning, stop here and place the bowl and apples in the fridge. If not – continue to the next step.
- Mix in the apples. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place somewhere warm for 45 minutes.
- In a large pan heat up 1-2 tablespoons of coconut oil, then lower the heat and you know what to do next – make pancakes. You want to wait until one side gets golden, then flip on the other side until it gets golden too.
- Once the pancakes are ready, I like to caramelise some extra apples. All you have to do is mix cinnamon apples with agave syrup in a large pan on melted coconut oil and heat for 3-5min.
- Voila, enjoy!
* I find soy or oat milk best for cooking and baking.
Gabriele Marija 