I was on leave.... the kids were on leave.... we lost all sense of time and reason and as MOM, I declared we should have banana stuffed cinnamon sugar and syrup pancakes served with caramel ice-cream. Because, after all, I am the boss 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
So, traditional South African Pancakes (Pannekoek) are different to American pancakes. They're thinner, so I suppose they're closer to a crepe, whereas American pancakes are more like flapjacks here.
I remember as a little girl, my mom used to make them - just with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice (which we gobbled like crazy) and she had a knack for being able to flip them in the air. We did have one land on a cat once though 🤣😹
Here's the recipe I used: It should have made 16 pancakes but it actually made 14, but I think I was a bit to generous with my spoons of batter.
Utensils:
Nonstick pan approx. 30cm
Spatula
Mixing bowls x 2, one for wet ingredients, one for dry
Electric Mixer
Wooden spoon
measuring cup
Spray and cook (I used to use butter, but the spray and cook is LEGIT lifechanging)
Large oven proof tray x 2 to keep pancakes warm and for your bananas
Soup or serving Ladle
Ingredients:
For the Pancakes/ Pannekoeken
2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
2 cup milk
6 tbsp melted butter
2 tbsp cinnamon sugar
1 tsp vanilla
For the Filling
1 cup granulated cinnamon sugar
6 Large Bananas
Syrup for drizzling
Caramel icecream
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large bowl, using a balloon whisk (I don't have one of these so I used a fork), beat together the vanilla, sugar, melted butter, milk, and eggs.
Sift the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking powder) into the wet ingredients. Beat to thoroughly combine. I used an electric mixer for this since I couldn't get the lumps out. Be careful not to overmix though, like any cake, it will loose fluffiness. The pancake batter should be quite runny. A bit like pouring cream.
- Let the batter rest for at least an hour.
- While you are letting the batter rest in the fridge, you can peel and slice your bananas. They can be cut in half and then sliced quite thickly. Place them on a baking tray and cover them in butter and cinnamon sugar (you're basically going to caramalise them using the oven. I sprayed the bananas out of the tray with spray and cook 1st to make sure they didn't stick).
- Preheat the oven to 180deg Celsius and stick your bananas in the middle of the oven to ensure they absorb all that buttery sugary goodness without burning.
Back to your pancakes: Heat the pan over medium-low heat. You will know that the pan is hot enough when water dropped on the surface sizzles immediately. Get your ladle and wooden spoon and spatula ready because this process is quick. Each pancake takes approx. two minutes.
When the pan is hot, spray the pan with spray and cook.
Pour a ladleful of pancake batter in a steady stream into the hot pan. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom in a thin layer of batter.
Cook until small bubbles form throughout the surface of the pancake and the edges begin to lift away from the bottom of the pan. Use the spatula to flip the pancake. Allow it to cook another 30 seconds to one minute, until golden brown. You’ll need to keep a close eye on the pancake, adjusting to ensure that you have the right temperature.
- Remove the cooked pancake and place it in your other baking tray. Start by sprinkling cinnamon sugar in the pan before laying down your 1st pancake, and then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top of each one as you go, returning the tray to the oven to keep them warm in your oven's warming drawer.
- once you're about half way through, your bananas should be done. Switch the oven off and you can now store your pancakes here. The residual heat will keep them nice and warm till serving time.
Once all your pancakes are done, serve one person at a time as you dont want the pancakes to get cold or for the ice-cream to melt (like mine did 🤣🥞🍦)
Stuff each pancake with the banana and roll it up. sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and drizzle with syrup.
Serve with a generous scoop of ice-cream.
YUMYUMYUM!!!
