Banana Cranberry Pancake
I’m not sure if it’s the cold weather pushing me towards more comfort foods, but lately I’ve been having an insane sweet tooth, specifically craving breakfast meals. The first image that comes to mind are eggs, fruits, toast, potato hash, coffee, etc. This is actually the usual meal I get from IHop or, if I’m lucky, at continental breakfast. But all this is always sided with a good stack of sweet, fluffy pancakes. Warm, soft, spongy, sugary— you can rely on pancakes to be the one of the most comforting dish there is. And this recipe is 100% trustworthy.
I’m not a huge baker, nor am I the best at sweets. So I turned to google to help a hungry gal out. Jen Segal’s blog Once Upon a Chef knocks it out of the park with her Banana Pancake recipe. She uses the most basic ingredients to come up with one of the best fluffiest masterpiece, eligible for a very hearty, homemade meal. It’s substantial enough to feel full and satisfied.
I took her measurements and added my own variations to the mix, such as oat milk, earth balance vegan butter, brown sugar, and topped it off with apples and cinnamon. Because I’m in a festive mood, I once again incorporated some cranberry sauce, which gave this recipe its name. Yes, the cranberry craze lives on :).
What you’ll need…
Equipment: I find it useful to always set up the kitchen way before the cooking process begins. To prep my ingredients, I used a food scale, measuring cups and spoons, 1 large and 1 medium sized bowls for the mixtures, as well as the hand mixer and a fork, silicone spatula to stir, and a rubber spatula (or any spatula) to cook on the frying pan. Having an electric mixer will aid a lot, but handmade should give the same results.
The Flour Mix:
You’ll start off with all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk them well and put them on the side. I love my pancakes subtly sweet so I used brown sugar instead of white. Brown sugar gives a caramel flavor that enhances once you add the maple syrup.
The Banana Mix:
In a medium sized bowl, you’ll first mash the banana to a smooth texture, and then add two large eggs. Use a fork to mix all the contents and then add milk, vanilla extract, and melted butter. Melt the butter in the microwave beforehand.
You’ll want to have an over-ripe banana. This means that those old brown bananas that are wilting away on your kitchen counter should not be thrown away! The browner the sweeter and they’re great for recipes like this one. For this mix, I’ve substituted plant based milk and butter using oat milk and earth balance vegan butter. I love heavy cream, but pancakes have a delicate essence to them I think goes very well with lighter ingredients such as plant-based ones while still being a very substantial dish. Oat milk also tastes just like cows milk but with a sweeter and thicker touch than almond or even cashew milk.
The Holy Union
Next, you’ll pour the banana mix into the flour mix. Grab a silicone spatula or large spoon (wooden would be preferable but any spoon works perfect), and gently mix and fold the contents. Be careful not to over mix to not thin the batter out. This is probably why hand mixing might be best for this process. Don’t worry if it looks lumpy and doesn’t blend in together, it’s supposed to look a little bit like overnight oats.
The Pan
On a medium to large griddle or pan, heat up vegetable oil and a thin slice from a butter stick under medium heat. Never heat up oil on high heat. You’ll burn things out too quickly and the flavor will be compromised. For extra protection from setting your pancakes on fire, the vegetable oil will actually prevent the butter from burning. This is something I recently learned making this recipe. Thanks for the tip Jen :).
Once the oil is hot but not spatting out of control, you’ll first take 1/4 cup of the batter and pour it slowly onto the pan and cook until the underside is golden brown and the top bubbles up. I cooked one at a time to give me some space to flip. But you can always do two if your pan is big enough.
For shaping, I cooked about three 1/4 cups of batter to make three 4-inched pancakes. I then spooned out 1/2 cup of batter for three more pancakes. For the remainder I made bigger rounded pancakes like the one in this picture.
The Toppings
You knew it was coming. Once you’re done stacking, spread some cranberry sauce in between each pancake as you go up the pile. Garnish with cranberries and you can top it off with bananas. If you ran out of fresh bananas like me, you can use apples or any other kind of fruit. Glaze some maple syrup, sprinkle some cinnamon, and you are set for the morning!
Banana Cranberry Pancake
The recipe is an adaptation from Once Upon a Chef where you can find her recipe here. Below is a step by step from her website but with my variations. Enjoy!
Ingredients
1-1/2 cups (188g) all purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
2 tablespoon brown sugar, I used sugar in the raw
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher sea salt
1 small, over-ripe banana, peeled
2 large eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (266 ml) oat milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted earth balance vegan butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 thin slice of vegan butter
Cranberry sauce
Fresh cranberries
Sliced apples
Maple syrup
Cinnamon
Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a small bowl, mash the banana with a fork until almost smooth. Whisk in the eggs, then add the milk and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour the banana mixture and the melted butter into the flour mixture. Fold the batter gently with a rubber spatula until just blended; do not over-mix. The batter will be thick and lumpy.
Set a griddle or non-stick pan over medium heat and put a pad of butter and one tablespoon vegetable oil onto the griddle, and swirl it around. Drop the batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto the griddle, spacing the pancakes about 2 inches apart. Cook until a few holes form on top of each pancake and the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the top is puffed, 1 to 2 minutes more. Using the spatula, transfer the pancakes to a serving plate.
Wipe the griddle clean with paper towels, add more butter and oil, and repeat with the remaining batter. Serve the pancakes while still hot with maple syrup, sliced bananas and confectioners' sugar if desired.
