We have friends in town. Beautiful friends, favorite friends, the kind of friends I’d split BFF necklaces with if I were eight and could scrape together enough allowance for so many bestie charms.
I set out to write about my time with them — about the sweetness and the goodness and the wholeness I feel — but I’m too selfish to want to break away any longer than I have to and they’ll be stateside again before we know it, so INSTEAD I’m going to share a little something sweet and good and whole they made possible by acting as our airway pack mules — our maple syrup and spelt flour connection.
I’ve been tweaking this recipe for a while now, trying to please both my inner health nut and the pancake police I live with, who consider some of the healthy hotcakes I’ve made to be better suited as coasters than breakfast cuisine. Not these bad boys. Check out that fluff…these are no spelt frisbees, my friends.
The following recipe feeds my family of six, though just barely. I almost always double it for sharing or afternoon snacking.
Bestie Banana Spelt Pancakes
2 c spelt flour
3 t baking powder
1/2 t sea salt
1 T sugar or maple sugar
2 eggs
4 T coconut oil
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 c rice or almond milk
1/2 t vanilla
salted butter
real maple syrup
In large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, separate egg whites and beat to soft peaks (the secret fluff method). Add yolks and the rest of the wet ingredients, including mashed banana. Combine wet and dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Batter should be thick but still pourable (add a little milk as needed – some spelt flours are denser than others). Pour batter on hot, buttery skillet (I like cast iron). Flip pancakes when the edges appear cooked and the tops bubble. Top with butter and warm maple syrup.
Best served hot, savored slowly and enjoyed with your BFFs (isn’t everything?)
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. — JRR Tolkien
02/19/2013 at 4:21 pm
What happens if you use cow’s milk? We have a 3 year-old pancake addict and it would be awesome to have an enticing alternative for him.
02/19/2013 at 5:35 pm
Cow’s milk would probably make them even tastier. Let me know how they turn out!
02/19/2013 at 5:55 pm
Can’t wait to try these! We are pancake/waffle fiends!
02/19/2013 at 8:08 pm
I am keen to try these tonight :)
have you replaced coconut oil with another that has worked ?
thanks!
enjoy the bff!
02/19/2013 at 8:27 pm
I think vegetable oil or melted butter would be just as good. Did I mention that I like butter? ;)
02/20/2013 at 2:53 pm
What is the difference between spelt flour and wheat? We do love our pancakes and maple syrup!
02/23/2013 at 1:56 am
Yumyumyum! We had breakfast-for-dinner tonight & I made these. TERRIFIC! Michelle, I replaced the coconut oil with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce & it was fine. I also didn’t put bananas in mine. Two tips from my grandma, who was a pancake queen: #1: sift the dry ingredients first, or at the very least break up the small clumps with a fork. #2: IMPORTANT!! Don’t overbeat the batter!! That’s what makes tough pancakes. Happy cooking, mamas! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, Beth–I’ve been searching for a good “healthy” pancake :)
02/25/2013 at 3:54 am
These were sooo good! Thanks for sharing, Beth! First time I’ve ever made banana pancakes (or eaten them), and I have to say, I’m converted. :)
03/01/2013 at 1:45 pm
Loved these! We’ve tried many types of pancakes (whole grain, gluten-free) all of which were too dense. These are nice and light but still filling. Note: I didn’t have enough bananas so I substituted some mashed berries I’d frozen last summer (thawed first) and used buttermilk instead of almond. Thanks for sharing – my boys love ‘em!
06/01/2013 at 7:40 pm
They were delicious but it only made three pan cakes!
06/01/2013 at 10:31 pm
That’s strange. Must have been some gigantic pancakes! I get at least 15 out of every batch.
06/14/2013 at 1:54 pm
Tried this recipe for breakfast…really enjoyed the pancakes – thanks for sharing!
08/05/2013 at 3:44 pm
Finally a spelt pancake recipe that not only met my expectations but exceeded them too! I have tried many spelt pancake recipes but they were all so so. This one is truly awesome! I added fresh blueberries and they were fantastic. I halved the recipe and fed my family of four perfectly. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
08/11/2013 at 9:39 am
Thanks for sharing this. This morning, I googled ‘spelt pancakes’ and have been wandering around your blog ever since! Anyway, I made a variation of your pancakes for breakfast and they turned out great – light and yum! I halved all measurements, swapped milk for fresh carrot/apple juice, and left out the sugar, butter, vanilla and syrup. I’m looking forward to trying more variations another day. Thanks for sharing and great blog by the way. You’re saying important things that needs to be said in a clear, accessible way. Keep it up. Great stuff.
08/19/2013 at 7:08 pm
Thanks so much for this recipe! We tried it this morning and we love it! :)
09/08/2013 at 5:34 am
MMMmmmmmmmmmmmm! Dreamy!
09/08/2013 at 5:36 am
I was out of *gasp* butter! Used coconut oil on the skillet…. all is well…. Most delicious pancake recipe!
12/27/2013 at 2:11 pm
These are the best! I’ve made them many times and use 1% cows milk and melted butter for the oil Even my white wheat husband loves them.
03/03/2014 at 6:00 pm
Would Coconut milk work as a substitute?
03/03/2014 at 6:04 pm
Also, do you melt to coconut oil and then add the wet ingredients? of do you use that to fry the cakes with?
03/14/2014 at 3:43 pm
Ran out of my spelt/rice flour bread, so thought I would search for spelt pancakes on the web. I found these and they are awesome! i halved the recipe, but forgot to half the almond milk, but I only used one banana, so I justified it that way. Also, you don’t mention what to do with the beaten egg white. From previous experience with wheat pancakes, I folded in the egg white to reduce mixing. Next time, I might add frozen blueberries. Thank you for this recipe Beth.
03/14/2014 at 4:00 pm
Okay, re-read your recipe. I see you mix everything together. Whatever works I guess, but I will still fold the egg white in. Thank you.
03/15/2014 at 6:12 pm
Hey beht,
I am from germany and i was wondering, how much is 1 Cup in gramm approx.?
140g?
Would be nice to hear from u caus i am really not sure….