Pancakes (the fluffy kind)

by Joanne Davies

We love the mix of bacon, banana and maple syrup with pancakes. Please choose free range or organic bacon. Fair Trade bananas are often a similar price to others, they may seem expensive because you are paying per bunch. Pure maple syrup is delicious and is low GI, meaning the energy from the sugar content will last longer in your body. It is pricey in comparison to the flavoured syrups, but each bottle does go quite a long way. Maple flavoured syrup is basically refined sugar syrup with artificial flavour.

Aother favourite is plain greek style yoghurt with fruit and maple syrup. Decadent and creamy, but with the benefit of healthy cultures and vitamins from the fruit.

The main effort required with pancakes is in the cooking. I prefer a cast iron pan, heated to medium. As time goes on, the pan gets hotter so I gradually turn down the heat throughout the cooking process.

This fella is ready to flip...

You can do a part substitute with wholemeal flour for fibre. For the mix pictured I used 1/4 cup (the family had no idea it was there).

Pancake Mix:

1 and a quarter cups flour (substitute at will)
3 scant teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar (or use a sweetener of your choice, if it's liquid, add with the milk)
1 egg
1 and a quarter cups milk (use whatever type of milk you like)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons melted butter or coconut oil

Place dry ingredients into bowl and whisk to sift together.

Make a well or dip in the mix and crack the egg in. Pour half of the milk in and whisk together. Once it starts incorporating, add the rest of the milk and whisk away until you have a smooth batter.

Turn the oven on to a really low setting, just warm. Start heating the pan and put the butter in once it's warm. When the butter has melted, pour it into the pancake mix, scraping the pan with a silicon spatula so that there is just a tiny bit left ready for the first pancake. Blend the butter into the mix with your whisk.

Pour in 1/4 cup of batter at a time. Watch until bubbles rise, then begin to pop (about 45 seconds - 1 minute), then turn over and cook the other side until done. Side two usually takes a slightly shorter time. Add a tiny dot of butter or coconut oil to the pan and add your next 1/4 cup, making a nice saucer-sized pancake. Continue to repeat with remaining mixture and stack the cooked pancakes on a plate in the warm oven. You can cover with a slightly damp cloth if you wish.

Serve warm with your favourite accompaniments.

Our recipe made this stack of 11 pancakes, about enough for a family of four. Factory Ceramics Hessian Plate

Grilled Bananas

Wash the bananas and dry gently. Chop them on an angle into chunks around 3cm wide. If you have the curve facing towards you there will be more surface area to caramelise and soak up the butter. Keeping the skin on helps to keep the banana intact, so it doesn't turn into a major mush in the pan.

Heat some butter or coconut oil (highly recommended!) in the pan once the pancakes are done. Add your banana slices and let them do their beautiful caramelly thing without any assistance. Turn after a minute or so and brown the other side. Serve with all the other goodies you can fit onto your plate.

Salivating optional