Vegan pancakes with blood orange
A vegan version of a classic drop scone pancake, just to show that Pancake Day needn’t always be about the eggs and milk. The banana gives the mix a bit of body and some natural sweetness. The oil replaces the richness of egg yolk. The rise in these pancakes comes from the baking powder, so you’re best to make them as soon as the batter is ready, rather then let it rest, or it will lose its potency. The acid in the vinegar reacts with the baking powder to give it some extra oomph, and makes for a fluffier result.
Cook's notes
The blood orange topping is quite sweet, so if you use the pancake recipe with a different topping, you may want to add a tablespoon of sugar to the batter (depending on your personal tastes).
Ingredients
Warm blood oranges:
- 4 blood oranges
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
For the pancakes:
- 125ml almond milk
- 1 small overripe banana (about 80g)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for cooking
- 1 tsp cider vinegar
- 100g plain flour
- ½ tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
Method
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Step 1
Start by segmenting the oranges. Do this by topping and tailing each orange, then cutting around the sides, following the curve of the orange, to remove the skin and the pith. Next, cut down each side of the segments to release them without any pith or membrane. Once you have removed the segments, squeeze the membrane over a small saucepan to get the remaining juice out. Repeat with all four oranges.
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Step 2
Add the maple syrup to the orange juice in the pan and then bring it up to the boil. Let it bubble away until it has reduced into a thick syrup. Keep an eye on it, as it can cook down and burn quite quickly. Remove from the heat and tip in the segments. Leave them to warm through. Keep to one side.
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Step 3
To make the pancake batter: pop the almond milk, banana, oil and vinegar into a blender and whizz together until smooth.
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Step 4
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the salt and mix well.
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Step 5
Tip the wet ingredients into the flour and mix until there are no dry bits left and you have a reasonably smooth batter. Don’t overmix or whisk it together too vigorously.
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Step 6
Turn your oven on to a low heat. Heat a layer of oil in a large frying pan. Drop in dessert spoons of the mix to make small pancakes; you may get 4-5 in the pan at a time. Cook them over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes a side, or until nice and golden on the underside and beginning to bubble on the uncooked surface. Flip them over and cook for another few minutes on the other side, until golden and well risen. Transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in the oven until you have cooked them all.
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Step 7
Serve immediately, with the warm orange segments and syrup spooned over the top.