Vegan Pancakes (serves 2-3)

February 27, 2017August 4, 2018Leave a comment

Vegan Pancakes by The Fat Foodie with Lemon and Golden Syrup

When I was a kid I loved pancake day because it was a day in which you were legitimately allowed to eat dessert for dinner. Dad was always the designated pancake maker and, apart from the first one which is always a dud anyway, they were consistently outstanding. We’d wait patiently (or impatiently) to receive each individually made pancake from the frying pan and eat them piping hot, sprinkled with Jif lemon juice and drizzled with a generous coating of Tate and Lyle’s golden syrup. Delicious!

Although nowadays my adult palate baulks at the idea of solely eating sweet pancakes for dinner on Shrove Tuesday, I do insist on following tradition and I tend to make them after a small sensible dinner as a tasty dessert. The topping choices seem endless in today’s day and age, but the first pancake on my plate is always decorated with lemon juice and golden syrup. Any other topping just seems out of place until I’ve had my citrus-laden, tart, but sweet one.

I was a bit apprehensive about trying to create a recipe for vegan pancakes because I was unsure whether an eggless, milk-free pancake mix would yield the same results as a standard pancake mix would, but I have to say, vegan pancakes taste exactly the same as ‘normal’ pancakes. I’ve never liked really thick, dense pancakes (unless they’re fluffy little Scotch pancakes) and have always preferred a thin, crispy crêpe. Thankfully, this vegan pancake recipe makes lovely light crêpes that have just the right tasty crispiness to fold around your chosen fillings.

On the subject of pancake fillings, the list of possibilities is endless: lemon juice; golden syrup; maple syrup; honey; nuts; whipped cream or coconut cream; melted chocolate; or fresh fruit. Another option is to leave the sugar out of the mix which would allow you to use the crêpes with savoury fillings, such as cream cheese (or vegan alternatives), cooked meats, grated cheddar, crispy bacon, roasted vegetables, or sundried tomatoes and pesto.

Whether you want to make pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday or simply to worship the joy that is the humble pancake, give these a go. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients for the vegan pancakes:

200g gluten-free flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F Plain Flour)

2 tbsps of sugar

1 tsp xanthan gum

400ml of rice milk (or normal milk)

2 tbsps of sunflower oil (or 1 egg, if non-vegan) (plus more oil for frying)

Toppings can include: Lemon juice; Golden Syrup; Maple syrup; Jam; fresh fruit; Nutella (or vegan alt.); Nuts, etc.

Method:

Put all of your pancake ingredients (without the toppings, obviously!) in a jug and whisk together until it is smooth.

Put a non-stick pancake pan or frying pan on a medium heat with a little sunflower oil (around 1 tsp).

Once the oil is hot, slowly pour some of the pancake mix into the centre of the pancake pan, tilting the pan as you pour so the mixture spreads into a thin disc. (They don’t have to be perfect, so don’t stress if they’re weird shapes. Trust me, they’ll still taste amazing.)

Let the pancake cook on one side until it’s crispy and golden brown when you lift the edge up with a fish slice.

Flip the pancake over and cook the other side until it’s also crisp and brown.

Remove from the pancake pan and place on a baking tray. Keep the pancakes warm in the oven until you’re ready to serve them and carry on making more until all of the mix is used up.

Adorn your pancakes with your chosen toppings and serve.

Freshly Made Vegan Pancakes by The Fat Foodie

Vegan Pancakes by The Fat Foodie Drizzled with Melted Chocolate

Vegan Pancakes by The Fat Foodie

Vegan Pancakes by The Fat Foodie with Lemon and Golden Syrup

Mary Berry’s Scotch Pancakes

September 14, 2016January 22, 2018Leave a comment

Mary Berry’s Scotch Pancakes made by The Fat Foodie

Every year at the height of summer my village holds a street fair in which the main street is lined with stalls which groan under the weight of books, bric-a-brac and baking. Although everyone flits around the stalls looking for bargains and purchasing junk they’ll pay an exorbitant price for, but will never actually use, they all end up at the Scottish Women’s Rural Institute table.

I’m going to let you into a little secret here, a secret which these women covet and rarely acknowledge to outsiders, but I know to be true. They have magical powers. Most of these women are elderly and hold life-long secrets to the best home baking. However, they also have the uncanny ability to produce the lightest, airy, pillowy soft, vanilla-scented perfect little rounds of scotch pancake using a portable camping stove on top of a rickety church hall table in the middle of Main Street on a hot summer’s day.

Aside from their coven’s unearthly good scotch pancake-making abilities, they also have the skill to enchant their stall to ensure that on this sunny day of festivity, no wasp, fly or honey bee will bother them. Nor will they bother the jars of homemade preserves the women concocted the previous autumn from the bounty of wild brambles which creep along the hedgerows and are brought along on street fair day to pour atop the little enchanted scotch pancakes they sell to their customers for a small fee.

It’s possible my imagination has embellished the seemingly magical skills of these women. It’s not possible however, that I’ve in any way embellished the tastiness of their scotch pancakes. And just in case I’m right about the true supernatural nature of the women who are members of the Women’s Rural, you won’t catch me being disparaging about them within their earshot. I’d also guarantee that, judging from the wicked little twinkle in Mary Berry’s eye whenever I see her on TV, she’s bound to be a member of her own coven of baking witches. The sheer otherworldly tastiness of Mary Berry’s scotch pancakes also assures me that my suspicions regarding her otherworldly baking abilities are correct.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for a meeting with a group of women you really wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of and I’ve still got some chores to do before I leave. After all, my broomstick’s not going to sweep the floor itself, is it?

Ingredients:

300g gluten-free self-raising flour (I use Dove’s Farm G/F flour because it’s made with low FODMAP ingredients whereas many other gluten-free flours are made with high FODMAP options.)

1½ tsps. baking powder

60g sugar

2 eggs

200ml lactose-free milk (I used rice milk)

2 tbsps. vegetable oil

Method:

Sieve your dry ingredients into a large jug and then add the egg and milk. Whisk well until a thick batter is created. (You may need to add a little bit more milk if the consistency isn’t what you think it should be.)

Put a griddle pan or a large frying pan on a low to medium heat and then add a very small amount of butter.

Once the butter is melted pour a few tbsps. of batter onto the griddle, but try to pour it on one spot so you get a perfect circle of batter. If you’ve got a large enough griddle you can pour more pancakes to cook at the same time, but if not then just cook them one by one.

Let your pancake cook for a while. When bubbles begin to appear on the top of the pancakes you can flip them over to cook the other side.

When your pancakes are light golden brown and springy to the touch they’re ready.

Spread with generous quantities of real butter and jam and enjoy while still slightly warm.

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Mary Berry’s Scotch Pancakes made by The Fat Foodie

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French Toast (serves 2)

June 6, 2016December 3, 20172 Comments

French Toast by The Fat Foodie

We British have a number of names for bread soaked in an egg and milk mixture and then fried: French toast, eggy bread, and gypsy toast, to name but a few. In my family we’ve always called it French toast. For years I was under the impression that we called it French toast because the egg and milk soaked bread, with a sweet topping of sugar or golden syrup, mimicked the French egg-enriched brioche loaf. However, some investigation has unearthed the fact that the French have their own version (or perhaps the original version?) of French toast – pain perdu, a recipe which sees slices of brioche soaked in a sugar, orange liqueur, vanilla and orange zest milky egg mix and then fried in butter.

Regardless of it’s origins or heritage, I think that French toast remains a favourite in most households, but it is a highly divisive dish, or at least the choice of toppings a person chooses to crown their toast with is. There are those who believe that the only way to properly do it justice is to apply a little salt and pepper. Others coat it liberally in ketchup or brown sauce. Some go the whole hog and cook bacon at the same time, stacking the crispy rashers on top before drizzling it all over with maple syrup. And there are always those with a sweet tooth who reach for the good ol’ standby of golden syrup or maple syrup.

Sunday mornings are the perfect excuse to make a breakfast which would normally be avoided on the grounds of being too time-consuming. When you’ve had a lovely lie-in, a nice leisurely shower, and the sun’s splitting the sky, the thought of grabbing a speedy bowl of granola or a swiftly toasted piece of bread doesn’t quite feel in keeping with the tone of the day. So, I decided a luxurious breakfast of French toast was the way to go, resulting in sweet, plump and fluffy slices of eggy bread that were ready to receive the topping of my choice.

For me, I like to spread one slice of my French toast with a light layer of ketchup and coat the other in golden syrup. The danger, of course, lies in making sure that neither topping touches one another, requiring much plate-watching vigilance. The thought alone is making me shudder, but regardless of this element of danger to the dish, I enjoyed every mouthful.

Ingredients:

4 slices of gluten-free bread (or 2 buns/rolls)

3 eggs

100ml milk (or rice milk)

Sunflower/vegetable oil

Method:

Crack the eggs into a large shallow bowl and whisk in the rice milk until it’s all combined.

Place the bread in the egg mixture and let it soak for a minute.

Once that side is soaked, turn them over and let the other side absorb the mixture. You may need to do this a few times until most (or all) of the egg mix has been absorbed.

Put a large frying pan on a medium high heat with a small amount (around 1 tbsp) of oil in it.

Once the oil is hot, place your slices of bread in the frying pan and cook each side until they are a good golden brown colour and they are no longer squidgy when pressed. Mine took about 8-10 mins to cook.

Place on your serving plate and add your desired topping.

Granola (makes 20-25 servings)

May 30, 2016August 4, 2018Leave a comment

Granola by The Fat Foodie

I’ve been going through a cereal eating phase at the moment. Cereal killing, if you will. Sometimes, possibly because of the hot weather, only a nice crunchy bowl of sweetened oat and nut clusters with lashings of cold rice milk will hit the hunger spot. So, I figured it was time to make a low FODMAP recipe for granola.

Like everything I cook, I used ingredients I actually had on hand and were FODMAP friendly, rather than having to go out and buy things specifically, but I’m really happy with the results of this endeavour. After the granola had cooled down and I’d started to transfer it into a big Kilner Jar, I couldn’t help nibbling at the crunchy mounds.

My FODMAP friendly version of granola is a lovely sweet, nutty mixture with a surprisingly light texture that’s really satisfying and incredibly easy to make. You’ll be dipping your hand into the jar for a little cluster as you pass throughout the day. Next time I think I’ll be making it with dried strawberries, walnuts, and dark chocolate chips. Go on, let your own cereal killer loose…

Ingredients:

400g gluten-free oats

50g chopped hazelnuts

50g pecans

50g pumpkin seeds

30g sesame seeds

A pinch of salt

120g coconut oil

100g golden syrup

1 tsp. of ground cinnamon

1 tsp. of ground ginger

50g dried fruit of your choice (I used raisins, and chopped pineapple and cranberries)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 140C/120C Fan/275ºF/gas mark 1.

Mix all of your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Melt your coconut oil gently in a pan then add in your golden syrup.

Pour the mixture over your bowl of dry ingredients and mix well.

Spread the mixture in an even layer over a large baking tray (or two if your trays are small) and bake them in the oven for about an hour.

Keep a watchful eye on it though because you want it to go golden brown and it can burn really easily.

Once out of the oven leave it to cool and then, as you put it in your chosen container, layer it with the dried fruits. Enjoy splashed with ice cold rice milk.

Granola by The Fat Foodie

The Fat Foodie

Making Low FODMAP Food Good!

Tag: #breakfast

Vegan Pancakes (serves 2-3)

Mary Berry’s Scotch Pancakes

French Toast (serves 2)

Granola (makes 20-25 servings)