Gluten Free Coconut & Raspberry Pancakes

I have finally cracked. I just had to experiment with a gluten free bake. I am not intending to become gluten free nor am I gluten intolerant but I have been reading so many interesting posts/articles/features over the last month or so that I just had to give it a go for myself. For research purposes naturally. I like to dip into the latest food discoveries and food is becoming akin to fashion in terms of trends.

Believe me, it never used to be like this. When I was training to be a chef, not one single other person I know, male or female were doing  the same thing. It was not fashionable. There were no bloggers, no pop-ups and it was not cool.

I think my chef life would have been so much better if things were as they are now back then (early 90s). Although one thing I know that will never change. The proper hard work of a chef’s life.

Conversely now I teach cookery and blog about it. I spend hours reading and researching food, trying to keep up with what’s new, all from the comfort of my sofa or kitchen table. No fourteen hour shifts. I just fit the work in at some point during the day and night. It is more of a food based  lifestyle than an office hours job but I love it.

So my gluten free coconut and raspberry pancakes took me on a search for coconut flour. Of all the gluten free flours available this one appealed to me the most and I liked the idea of frying them off using my massive jar of coconut oil that has been neglected of late.

Indeed I did source the coconut flour. I ended up paying a small fortune  for it on Ocado. FIVE NINETY NINE!

This gluten free business is costly. Would the pancakes be worth it?

If you can find yourself a cheaper brand of coconut flour such as Biona, then yes they probably would be worth it. But in comparison to making regular pancakes they are still an expensive business.

One discovery I made though was that coconut flour expands hugely when combined with liquids so you do not need as much of it in your pancakes. It also smells incredible. Like coconut on steroids. A delightful waft of the tropics but sadly this perfume dissipates upon cooking.

After reading lots of recipes online I decided to adapt  THIS one from Nourishing Days. The pancakes are incredibly light with a hint rather than a punch of coconut and the added raspberries provide a burst of freshness. I dusted them with icing sugar and served them with slices of banana. A splash of maple syrup finishes them off perfectly although honey would also work well.

Have you made anything gluten free recently? Tell me about it, I would love to know.

Here are some gluten free breakfast bakes from around the web:

Gluten free fig & blackberry crumble with an oat & quinoa crust – Franglais Kitchen

Coconut brown rice pudding with winter spices – Franglais Kitchen

Gluten free buckwheat crepes – Gluten free girl

Lentil granola – The Stone Soup

Breakfast grain salad with blueberries hazelnuts & lemon – The Kitchn

Print

Gluten free coconut & raspberry pancakes

A light and fruity pancake for gluten intolerant diets

Course Breakfast, Gluten free

Cuisine American

Keyword raspberry pancakes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 6

Author Laura Scott

Ingredients

• 60 g Coconut flour
• 1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
• A pinch of sea salt
• 1/2 tsp Ndali vanilla powder or 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp Orange flower water or zest of 1 orange
• 4 Medium eggs whisked well
• 225 ml Coconut milk full fat
• A punnet of raspberries
• Coconut oil for frying the pancakes alternatively butter can be used
• Maple syrup/honey to garnish
• Sliced bananas to garnish
• Raspberries to garnish
• Icing sugar to garnish

Instructions

1. Whisk the eggs well in a mixing bowl then add in the coconut milk and the orange flower water/orange zest,

2. Measure the coconut flour into a bowl, add the sea salt, vanilla powder and bicarb of soda. Sir to combine,

3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture in stages, whisking well as you go to avoid clumps forming,

4. Heat a small spoon of coconut oil/butter into a saucepan over a medium heat then add large spoons of the mixture about the size of a scotch pancake. Place 2 halved raspberries on the top of each pancake and cook for 2 minutes until small holes appear on the surface of the pancakes,

5. Flip the pancakes carefully and continue to cook for another 2 minutes on the other side,

6. Remove the pancakes and place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper/kitchen roll and continue to cook the rest of the pancakes until you have used up all of the mixture. You will need to add a little more coconut oil/butter each time a new batch of pancakes goes into the pan,

7. Serve the pancakes, 2 per person, with sliced banana, extra raspberries, maple syrup/honey and a dusting of icing sugar.

Recipe Notes

If you are using vanilla extract instead of vanilla powder then you will need to add this to the wet mixture instead of the dry mixture.
You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven (100 degrees) while you are cooking the rest of the pancakes.
They are best eaten fresh as the raspberries will discolour the pancakes if left for too long.