Long weekends and pancakes go together like pancakes and maple syrup. Or pancakes and honey. Or pancakes and golden syrup. Or pancakes and – I think you get the point. Long weekends are my favourite time for making a pancake breakfast. I can take a long walk down by the water and think about how we are doing as a world and a species at the moment, and realise that even though there are some big rifts in the fabric that binds us all, that there are things that each of us can do every day, and in the moment, that can effect change on a small scale. Like taking the time to make our families a pancake breakfast and sit down together to talk about how important it is to extend a hand of kindness, or to lift someone up when they are low.
One of the best things about a long weekend pancake brunch is that you are eating pancakes on a Monday. Monday pancakes taste the best, because its like you are cheating on your other Monday morning breakfasts and treating your tummy to some holiday goodness. Holiday Monday brunches also mean more time to patter about in the kitchen, taking care that each pancake is cooked to perfection, and then revelling in some newspaper time between bites of these cakey, pumpkin-spiced, blueberry-bursting, pancake towers. And these pancakes are gluten free so everyone in the family can enjoy them!
These pancakes are puffy and fluffy for several reasons: puréed pumpkin, baking powder, brown sugar, and an extra egg white. Once you bite into the soft crumb you notice the spices. I love the combination of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger especially with pumpkin and blueberries. I don’t like my pancakes overly sweet because I enjoy accessorising my pancakes with different kinds of sweeteners – usually jam or golden syrup – and because I have found that sugar in a pancake doesn’t give as much sweetness as a syrup added at the table. For these pancakes I poured golden syrup over my stack and let the sweetness trickle through.
For my northern hemisphere friends, these are the perfect way to welcome a season of pumpkin laced goodness, for my southern hemisphere pals we can use that extra pumpkin puree that is lurking in our freezers….or is that just me? If blueberries aren’t in season where you live, you can leave them out, or replace them with chocolate chips, dried fruit, or even some chopped pecans. Wherever you are, I hope you enjoy these little treats for breakfast soon!
Blueberry Pumpkin Buckwheat Pancakes
Gluten Free | Makes approximately 8 pancakes | Leftovers keep well wrapped in the freezer up to 2 months
Note: If you do not require these to be gluten free, simply use 170 grams (1 1/4 cups) plain flour instead of the first three ingredients.
Ingredients
- 100 grams buckwheat flour
- 40 grams almond meal
- 30 grams white rice flour
- 1 teaspoon cinammon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 whole egg + 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 punnet (~3/4 cup) fresh blueberries
- Favourite topping for serving
Method
- In a large bowl whisk together buckwheat flour, almond meal, rice flour, spices, baking powder and salt.
- In a separate smaller bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, milk, egg, egg white, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until no lumps remain.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium-low heat. Spray with cooking spray.
- Using a large ice cream scoop portion out pancake batter onto pan. Use the back of the scoop to encourage the batter to spread into a circle. Remember to leave plenty of room between pancakes for spreading and flipping. I cooked one pancake at a time on a small pan but to speed up the process use a larger frying pan.
- Dot the uncooked top of the pancake with a few of the fresh blueberries.
- Cook pancake for three minutes on one side. Small bubbles will begin rising to the uncooked surface. Once most of these have popped, flip the pancake and cook for another two minutes on the second side. Transfer to a plate and cover with a tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest of the batter.
- Once all pancakes are cooked serve with your favourite toppings.
Tell me, dear readers, what are your favourite long weekend breakfasts? Your favourite pancake toppings?
