It’s Pancake Day and we have a Healthista special for you. It’s time to get your frying pan ready for this healthy pancake recipe by Davina McCall
Every year there is one day when the world goes pancake-crazy! Have you woken up today just to find that your entire Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feed was full of pancake pictures? If you need a last minute recipe try these mouthwatering american-style fluffy pancakes topped with fresh blueberries and crème fraiche from Davina McCall’s book Davina’s Five Weeks to Sugar-Free. Davina McCall will also be at the new BBC Good Food eat Well Show will be hosting some of the best chefs, authors and experts at Olympia From February 27th to March 1st and Healthista readers can get 20 per cent off tickets.
AMERICAN-STYLE FLUFFY PANCAKES
Traditional American pancakes are made with buttermilk, which gives them that lovely fluffiness. But I’ve discovered that if, like me, you don’t have any buttermilk around, you can get the same effect by souring milk with a dash of lemon. It thickens the milk and the pancakes work a treat. Keep the pancakes warm in a low oven while you make a stack and serve them with bacon and a drizzle of maple syrup for the whole USA vibe, or blueberries and crème fraiche.
Makes about 16
juice of 1/2 lemon
225g full-fat milk
1 egg
1/2 vanilla pod
175g spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of cinnamon
1 tbsp soft butter or coconut oil
1. Turn the oven on and set it very low – about 130°C – to keep the pancakes warm as you make them.
2. Add the lemon juice to the milk and stir well. Leave the mixture to stand for 5 minutes or so until it has thickened – you’ve just made buttermilk! This hint of sourness makes the pancakes lighter and fluffier.
3. Lightly beat the egg and add it to the buttermilk along with the vanilla seeds – just split the pod and scrape the seeds out into the mixture with your thumb.
Traditional American pancakes are made with buttermilk, which gives them that lovely fluffiness
4. Put the flour in a large bowl and whisk in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon. Make a well in the middle and gradually stir all the buttermilk and egg mixture, making sure the batter is as lump free as possible.
5. Melt the butter or coconut oil in a large frying pan, then tip the melted fat into the batter and stir well. Wipe the inside of the frying pan with a piece of kitchen towel.
6. Place the frying pan on the heat and add a few blobs of batter, keeping them well spaced out. About 2 tablespoons per pancake should be about right. Cook them on one side until you can see the batter starting to set around the edges, then flip them over – the underside should have browned nicely. Cook the pancakes for another couple of minutes.
7. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven while you make the rest, then serve in a stack with your favourite choice of healthy berries.
MORE: See Davina at the BBC Good Food Eat Well Show
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