If you like the crisp edges of lasagne, the soaked croutons, the whipped cream that gets icy around the chocolate scoop - you’re in the right place.
Hi Everyone,
You don’t need another recipe for perfect pancakes. There are endless versions out there, including one that’s truly perfect (it’s Jake and Aiden’s recipe from Chez ma Tante). But if you’d like pancakes for breakfast on a Tuesday and a Thursday, and would like the smells of foaming butter and toasting nuts to become routine, Lifestyle Pancakes are for you. They don’t ask you to measure, melt, or whip (you can stir the batter together while coffee brews and adjust it without diminishing tenderness), and they’re fluffy, all protein, and sugar-free until you pour maple syrup over the top. Think of them as the Nordic bread of the pancake world.
Once you take the pressure off pancakes and stop striving for some Sunday ideal, you’ll find something better: pancakes easily, nourishingly, often. Grasping the texture of the batter and a rough understanding of what the few ingredients provide in composition will let you customize them for convenience and your personal version of ideal.
Lifestyle Pancakes
Almond flour, eggs, baking powder, whatever milk your house keeps, that’s it. Almond flour makes tender, airy pancakes without the need to stir through whipped whites. Because it doesn’t contain any gluten, it’s immune to over-mixing, so you can adjust the consistency of the batter till it’s right, and let the kids handle the whisk. The protein content will also keep them reassuringly full for longer than regular pancakes, if that’s on your mind.
A few ratios will let you scale freely: A half cup of almond flour makes about three little pancakes, enough for one person. I allocate one egg per half cup of flour to compensate for the fact that almond flour is gluten-free. It needs a little help to bind, and will give a crumblier result than regular flour.
I use about a ¼ teaspoon (a pinch) of baking powder per person/egg. Unlike baking soda, which has a bitter taste if you use too much, or fails to activate if the batter isn’t acidic enough, baking powder is easygoing, so you can eyeball it.
Add enough liquid to achieve the consistency of wet sand, right after a wave has pulled back. These pancakes work with whatever milk you keep (and even water if you have none). I like the tang of buttermilk, but regular milk and nut milk work too, especially when enhanced by a spoonful of yogurt, crème fraîche, or sour cream
Good mix-ins: mashed banana, flax meal, ricotta and lemon zest, torn dates added to the batter on the flip, so they become sticky, hidden treasures.
Makes 3 little pancakes, which feeds 1 person (use this as template to scale)
1 large egg
½ cup almond flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ cup buttermilk, or milk of your choice
Pinch of salt
Dash of vanilla essence
Crack the egg into a medium bowl, break it up with a fork, then add all the other dry ingredients. Combine.
Add your liquid of choice until the texture is like very wet sand. Take a ladle or cup measure (whatever you’re going to use to spoon the batter into the pan) and drop some batter off the spoon and back into the bowl. Does it disappear right into the batter? The batter’s too wet—add more almond meal. Is it so stiff that it just sits there like a sand castle? Add more liquid. If the shape of the drop sits for a minute, spreads sluggishly and integrates, the texture will spread just enough and hold in the pan.
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Drop in a knob of butter and swirl it around. When it begins to foam, spoon in the batter—about ¼ cup per pancake. If you’re adding torn dates or blueberries etc., this is when you’d do it.
Cook on the first side until you see bubbles tunneling through the batter. Peek underneath with a spatula to check for nice color. Then confidently get the whole pancake onto your spatula (no gluten means it’ll break if you don’t flip all at once), and flip. Lowering the heat a little on the second side will give the batter time to cook through without over-browning the almonds.
Reheat leftovers in the toaster.
EAT with maple syrup, butter, berries, nut butter, thick yoghurt, jam
OR for extra credit, warm your maple syrup then add a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of crème fraîche or sour cream, OR a little knob of butter and a squeeze of lemon. The salt and acid turn something sweet into something sublime, and the dairy makes each bite of pancake taste like it’s spread with butter.
OMG, the picture of the kids made my day!! Too funny! Happy Weekend.
I haven’t read your substack before and I was not expecting a gluten free pancake! I’m about two months in on a GF diet (for an autoimmune condition that needed a course change) and not feeling very happy about it. I can’t wait to try this!