Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free)

Categories : bread, pastry & savoury cakes, breakfast, desserts & sweet snacks, lent, no bake sweets, Recipes, vegetarian or vegan

Easy egg and dairy free pancakes made with spelt flour and agave sugar, served with delicious bananas fried in honey. The perfect breakfast, brunch or snack.

You guys, it’s been eight and a half years since this blog was born and I don’t have a recipe for pancakes on it. What on earth have I been doing all this time?! Well, better late than never and I hope you find these were worth the wait!

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: Two small ceramic plates with flour on a dark surface. Beside them is a metal whisk, two tiny bowls with salt and baking powder, a cup of oat milk and a glass of olive oil. In the top left corner is a packet of agave sugar.

Lately I’ve been trying to incorporate new ingredients in my cooking. I wrote an article a while back for a client and during my research I read that one of the ways we can contribute to healthier food systems around the globe is to try new and unusual plant products i.e. legumes, vegetables, grains, flours etc. This is because creating demand for such products helps farmers diversify their crops and make the shift from monocultures which are harmful to the soil and the environment in general. Spelt is a type of wheat that has been around since antiquity and its production is more sustainable than regular wheat, so I’ve been experimenting with it a bit; along with emmer flour which is similar (remember this amazing banana bread?). The good thing is that they are both accessible (ok maybe emmer is a little trickier in some places) in major supermarkets, health food shops and online. Use wholegrain where possible for an even better nutritional profile.

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A bowl with mixed dry ingredients for spelt pancakes in the centre of the image, with a jug of oat milk and oil right beside it. A whisk is also next to the bowl and to the top of the image are empty ceramic plates.

I’m just going to add a little note here and say that I am not in any way suggesting we all have to stop eating plain flour, corn, soy and rice (the main monoculture crops)! That would not be reasonable or feasible, and it wouldn’t actually solve the issue, which is very complicated. But adding variety to our diet doesn’t only make our menu more interesting, it also helps in small ways we might not have imagined.

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A bowl with mixed ingredients for spelt pancakes in the centre of the image, with an empty jug right beside it. A dirty whisk is in the jug and to the top of the image are empty ceramic plates.

The flour in this recipe isn’t the only “alternative” ingredient, I also took the opportunity to try agave sugar which I had never tried before. Specifically I used organic agave sugar by Ol-eve. It’s actually the syrup in powder form, which makes it very easy to add to recipes that would normally use regular sugar. Like pancakes!

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A ceramic platter full of pancakes. To the bottom of the platter is a small plate of strawberries and to the top is a plate of fried bananas and a small bowl of honey.

There is one more thing that makes these pancakes different to the classic version. There are no eggs. And you know what? You won’t miss them. In my opinion if we can make a recipe without eggs and not know the difference, then why use them? We can save them maybe for a recipe that is difficult to recreate without them. This way we are cutting down on our egg consumption, which in turn means we are reducing our environmental impact. Every little bit helps!

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A ceramic platter full of pancakes garnished with honey fried bananas and strawberries. To the bottom of the platter are some strawberries and a small bowl of honey. To the top is a packet of agave sugar.

Now, let’s talk about how to serve these delicious pancakes. You can of course use any toppings you like, the options are plenty. However, I really really hope you try these bananas. They are dead easy to make, you basically just fry them with honey until soft! And they are crazy delicious. If you prefer you could use just the honey, or maple syrup, jam, chocolate spread, chocolate and peanut butter sauce (try the topping from this tart while it’s still warm!), coconut yoghurt, the list goes on. But again… these bananas…

Spelt Pancakes with Honey Fried Bananas (egg and dairy free) www.thefoodiecorner.gr Photo description: A stack of spelt pancakes on a small ceramic cake stand garnished with honey fried bananas on top and strawberries all around. A hand is pouring honey over the top of the stack and it is dripping down the side of the pancakes.

So, let’s have a look at how to make these spelt pancakes with honey fried bananas.

Ingredients

For 8 pancakes

100 gr spelt flour, wholegrain

100 gr white all purpose flour

2 Tbs Agave Sugar by Ol-eve (see note)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

240 ml (1 cup) oat milk (or other plant milk)

1 Tbs olive oil

2 + 1 Tbs water

For the bananas

2 Tbs honey + extra to serve (I used Balkan Honey by Ol-eve)

2 bananas, halved and then cut lengthwise

strawberries to serve (optional)

Step 1

Whisk the spelt flour, all purpose flour, agave sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.

Step 2

Mix the oat milk, olive oil and two tablespoons of water in a jug and pour into the bowl. Mix with the whisk gently until you can’t see dry flour (don’t overmix). Set aside for 5 minutes.

Step 3

Heat a good non-stick pan on high (see notes) without adding any fat/oil. Add the last tablespoon of water to the pancake batter and mix until just incorporated. Bring the bowl near to the stovetop.

Step 4

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup scoop the batter and pour into the middle of the pan. Help it out with a spoon and then turn the pan a bit so the batter distributes itself nicely into a round shape approx. 12-13cm in diameter. When the top side has lots of holes try lifting the edge with a sharp spatula. If you can lift it easily and the underside is nicely browned, flip it. The time it takes to cook the first side depends on lots of things, the pan, the heat, the batter etc. The first side for each of my pancakes took between 1 min 10 sec and 1 min 20 sec. The second side took slightly less.

Step 5

Transfer the cooked pancakes (one by one as they come off the pan) to a plate covered with tin foil so they stay warm. Make sure they are cooked in the centre. During cooking you will probably have to lower the heat as the pan gets hotter, and you may want to wipe the pan with kitchen paper if you have crumbs that could burn.

Step 6

To the same pan, over medium/high, add the 2 tablespoons of honey. As soon as it melts and becomes runny, add the bananas cut-side down. The honey might froth but that’s ok, just move the pan swirling it around. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the bananas are soft and have started to brown slightly. You can flip them if you want but be careful not to break them.

Step 7

Serve the pancakes with the bananas and warm honey, extra honey and strawberries if desired.

Notes
-If you don’t want to use agave sugar you can try one of the many alternative sweeteners by Ol-eve or you can use plain sugar.
-The frying pan that I am using at the moment, which is brilliant for non-stick frying without oil, is a pan with a stone coating. You can use a pan with Teflon but be sure it’s in good condition (they do lose their coating after years of use) so the pancakes don’t stick. This is important as we aren’t using fat for cooking them.
-I don’t like too thick and fluffy pancakes; mine are on the normal side. If you want them thicker you can reduce the water in the recipe to make a thicker batter. But be careful of the heat while cooking so the pancakes have time to cook through before browning too much.
-This post is sponsored by Ol-eve. All opinions are my own.