Banana and Walnut Pixie Pancakes

Oh My Goddess!!! This morning I awoke with a craving, not just any old craving. A craving for something gooey and nutty and fruity and very very norty!!!!

You know the kind of food you bite into and makes you shudder then slide about 4 inches in your chair and you sit there chewing casually with a dopey grin on your face with your eyes shut kinda food.

The answer for me was simple PANCAKES!!! I could do pancakes with a caramel banana topping ... no no that wasn't going to work ... add walnuts !!! .. nooo i want the nuts but too many pans ... it's too early for a kitchen full of washing up!!!

I KNOW I'll chuck it all in together and see what happens!!! that is what I've done ... literally!!! hahaha!!!

Of course you also have a bit of an insight into how my brain works ... gods bless you every one xoxox

So here we go ...

BANANA AND WALNUT PIXIE PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup     Spelt flour

1 Cup     Buckwheat Flour

1 Tbspn Ground Flaxseed (optional)

1/2 Cup  Soft Light Brown Sugar

2 tspns    Gluten Free Baking Powder

2 tspns    Ground Cinnamon

3/4 Cup  Walnuts

1/2 Litre Almond Milk or other dairy free millk 

3             Bananas 

METHOD

1. Add all the dry ingredients except the walnuts in the bowl together.

2. Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse 4-5 times to get nice small chunky pieces. Add these to the bowl

3. Place the skinned bananas in the same food processor (this helps get the last bits of walnuts out) and blitz until puree. Place in the bow and mix

4. Add Almond Milk and mix until you have a loverly thick batter. 

5. Place spoonfuls of the batter on a really hot greased frypan and turn the temp down. Flip as soon as you can smell they are cooked. For the size I did they are about a minute each side. 

6. Serve warm or cold. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Have your ingredients ready to go. 

Pop all your dry ingredients in the bowl. 

Blitz your walnuts to loverly crumbly chunks. 

Add those and you mashed banana to the bowl and mix through

Add your "milk" 

Mix until you have a loverly gloopy batter that drops in blobs

Choose your weapon ... oh oh I mean pan!!! 

Place a spoonful on your pancake pan, if using small pans use smaller spoons. It's common sense really :D Oh and you need your pan really really hot to start but turn it to halfway as soon as you start cooking. These also will not bubble like the other ones to tell you they are ready. you have to keep an eye on them so slower cooler cooking is definitely best!!!

Pile them up and run away and baracade yourself in somewhere!!!! I have to admit though as much as i looooove my food I could only get through 5 of these babies!!!

I may only have been able to eat 5 of them but i got a guard for the rest!!!

I hope you enjoy them as much as I did/am/ going to later!!! 

To be honest this is the kind of recipe i make because I'm told I can't, so I do because I am positive there is a way to make just about anything vegan and gluten free and if I'm lucky one day I might be able to find some help to prove that theory xox 

Now go make some pancakes!!! lol 

Enjoy xox 

Plum and Brazilnut Frangipane Tart

Hello Loverlies!!!

It's been over a year since my last post and I am very very sorry. What I thought I'd do is make it up to you with a very special recipe. the recipe that really kicked me off back writing the blog again. Unfortunately there is only one picture of it and that is the finished product but it is pretty easy and I'm sure you can do it.

I am not a very good pastry girl, in fact pastry tends to terrify me somewhat. What I do like though and works really well with tarts like this is a "non rollout pastry" This is very much like a biscuit base or a cookie dough type base. Makes your heart pound when it first comes out of the oven but honestly it does crisp up just like a good pastry should.

The other awesome thing about it is that you don't have to blind bake it first. If anything it saves a good half hour of waiting around and rolling and other things you have to do with pastry. So yes this kind of base is definitely going to be my go to tart base from now on.

I used Brazils because honestly i was out of almonds. Necessity breeds creativity around here and I never let a little thing like the type of nuts change what I plan on doing ever.

Ok so enough of my rambling time for a recipe right ??? So here we go xox

PLUM AND BRAZILNUT FRANGIPANE TART

BASE 

1 cup       White Spelt Flour

1/2 Cup   Buckwheat Flour

1/2 cup    Vegan Margarine

1/2 Cup   Soft Brown Sugar

FRANGIPANE

2 Cups     Brazilnuts

1/2 Cup   Soft Brown Sugar

1/2 Cup   Coconut Cream

2 Tbspn   Spelt Flour

TOPPING 

6-8           Fresh Plums - Whatever is available - 

METHOD

Before you do anything 

1. Line and grease your tin. I used a 10 inch tin because that's what I have. 

2. Turn your oven onto 190C or 375F

Ok so then we begin with the fun stuff

1. Mix your marg and sugar together very very well until fluffy. 

2. Add Flours to the mix

3. Pour in Coconut Cream to make a thick cookie style dough texture. 

4. Place all mix in the tin and spread it out across the base and as far up the sides as you can make it. No thinner than about 1/4 cm 

NOTE: If you are in a hot climate placing the tin with the base in the fridge at this point is probably a good idea. Noone likes melted oil all over the work top !!!

5. Place the nuts in a processor and pulse until loose crumbs.

6. Add the rest of the ingredients and you should have a lushious thick creamy mix. (with chunks dont worry about the chunky bits) 

7. Add the frangipane to the base.

8. Cut the plums into quarters (or perhaps slices if you have that much time on your hands!). 

9. Place quarters on top of the frangipane and press in gently. Not enough to cover entirely but enough to sit in it well. 

10. Bake for around 1/2 hour or until golden and set. 

I works well with so cream or other alternatives including vegan icecream. However you eat it ... enjoy it. 

I know it's not just me who thinks it's good cos I gave a slab of it to a friend who also didn't tell anyone it was vegan and gluten free and they loved it and her mother asked for the recipe... I have to admit i find syncronicity an amazing thing at times, she was telling this as I had made up my mind to write this blog again. 

So yes for those of you who miss me you can thank syncronicity and a rather loverly Plum and Brazilnut Frangipane Tart xox 

Until Next time!!!