October 14
I was on a pancake hiatus for a very long time. Whether it was the recipes I was using or my own skill in the kitchen (I suspect it was the latter), every time I would try to make pancakes, they turned out to be a disaster. The same thing would always happen: I would cook them for what felt like an eternity and they would still taste gummy and undercooked on the inside. It usually ended up with me throwing a pancake-fit and us having to eat some sub-par food.
Well, I am happy to report that my pancake curse has been broken! I made these twice and both times they turned out great. I cooked them for a normal amount of time and they were cooked just like they needed to be: golden on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. It is really very exciting to have pancakes back on the roster for Sunday morning brunches. Why bananas? Well, firstly, it seems like I have a bit of a liking for banana filled sweet things (see the BEST banana bread and chocolate pudding with roasted bananas) but besides that, banana pancakes have a special place in my heart.
When we were in Vietnam, I had banana pancakes for breakfast pretty much every morning (for 4 weeks straight I may add). While my partner always had pho (filled with meat! I swear, I totally would have gone for some pho every once in a while), I felt like a little kid eating what I could only describe as pancake heaven. The pancakes there tended to be much heavier, more dense and loaded with bananas compared to the fluffy American-style pancakes I had always had in the past. Before this adventure in Vietnam, pancakes was never really on the top of my list in terms of breakfast dishes, I am a french toast girl through and through; however, you have to try these, while there are slightly lighter than the ones I had in Vietnam, there are still delicious and I love the texture. And with this success, I will definitely be toying around with some more pancake recipes in the future, fingers crossed that I stay un-cursed.
If you choose to use the optional orange juice and zest, please note that it makes the pancakes have a distinct orange flavor, I liked them both with and without!
We also tried these with and without chocolate chips. Surprisingly, I actually preferred them without the chocolate, but go chocolate crazy if you wish.
These pancakes are on the large side. I encourage you to keep them this size (a little less than 1/3 cup batter in each) to keep the texture, and just eat less. However, if you really prefer smaller/thinner pancakes, use 1/4 cup for measuring the batter out.
In a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients.
Add all wet ingredients and mix until incorporated but a few lumps remain.
In a large pan, add butter, 1 1/2 large bananas (sliced), and brown sugar.
Cook over medium-high heat until bananas start to brown (about 3-4 minutes).
Take out a second pan and organize the cooked bananas into 6 piles (three in each pan).
Using 1/3 cup as a scoop (filled 3/4s of the way), distribute batter over cooked bananas.
Add a bit more butter to the pan so the pancakes don't burn.
Over medium heat, cook for 3-4 minutes (until bubbles start to appear on the surface of the pancake), flip and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
Serve garnished with sliced fresh banana (from 1/2 banana reserved) and maple syrup.
http://mysecondbreakfast.com/banana-pancakes-recipe/Banana Pancakes Recipe was last modified: October 14, 2013 by