I sometimes make buckwheat pancakes for Sunday brunch when my family visit. My favourite toppings are slices of fresh seasonal fruit, lashings of coconut yogurt and drizzles of maple syrup. 

Here’s a few tricks to get a fluffy stack of pancakes: use a fresh rising agent, sift dry ingredients, mix with a balloon whisk, don’t over mix the batter, use a little lemon juice with the baking powder, allow the batter to rest, sprinkle mix-ins onto the pancake rather than mixing them in, use a griddle or electric griddle to control the temperature to the exact degree, flip the pancakes gently, don’t press the pancakes down with a spatula.

When preparing a pan for cooking pancakes, heat the pan using a medium-high flame, it should be hot enough that a few drops of water instantly beads and evaporates. If you’re using an electric pan, the ideal temperature for cooking pancakes is medium heat, around 190’C. Cooking pancakes at too low a heat can result in pale undercooked pancakes, while cooking them at too high a temperature will cause them to burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.

Health benefits –

·       Buckwheat is gluten free because it’s a fruit seed, not a whole grain. It’s so packed with protein and fibre, nutrients and antioxidants that it’s often called a superfood, all with few calories and almost no fat.

BANANA BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES

PB, V, GF, DF, SF

1 cup (170 g) buckwheat flour

1 tsp (3 g) baking powder

2 ripe bananas, mashed to puree

1¼ cups (215 ml.) plant milk

1 vanilla bean, slit with a knife and seeds scraped

Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk into a batter. Set aside for 10 minutes to help the batter rise and for the pancakes to cook to a more tender finish. Heat a frypan on medium heat until a few droplets of water bounce and evaporate, add a little oil and 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. When bubbles form in the centre of the pancake, flip over and cook a few more minutes.

Serve pancakes with roasted bananas and grapes and hemp seeds and a bottle of maple syrup, (or fresh berries with coconut yogurt and maple syrup).

ROASTED BANANAS & GRAPES

2 ripe bananas

Heat the oven to 200’C. Peel the bananas, slice in half lengthways and place on a lined baking tray with small bunches of grapes. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes. Remove and place on a platter for serving with the pancakes.