Pancake Possibilities

Pancakes are by far my favourite breakfast food. There are just so many possibilities, beginning with the choice of grain or flour for the pancake base, on to the spices, fruit, or nuts added into the batter, and finally the fresh fruits and sauces to top them off.

I love stacking fluffy pancakes into tall (sometimes leaning) towers of deliciousness, and this basic recipe is great for that. While they are great smothered with pure maple syrup, if you have some fruit (fresh or frozen) lying around, then I highly suggest you stir up this sauce while your pancake batter is resting. It is well worth the extra few minutes of stirring, and all that arm exercise means you can eat twice as many pancakes, right?

The pancake recipe is inspired by Post Punk Kitchen's Fluffy Pillow Pancakes.


Blank Slate Pancakes:


makes one giant serving

1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour

1 tsp baking powder (2 tsp if using German backpulver)

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup almond milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp ground flax seeds

1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp safflower oil (can be omitted for lighter pancakes)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. If using cold milk, then stir in coconut oil with dry ingredients to break it up. Combine almond milk, flax seeds and vinegar in a medium-sized bowl and whisk until frothy (a couple minutes). Mix in oil and vanilla; add dry ingredients to bowl. Stir until well-combined, and then let sit for at least 10 minutes. Heat large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, pour batter into pan (makes 4 large pancakes). Flip when bubbles appear throughout the pancake.

Serve hot with fresh fruit and maple syrup, or basic berry sauce (recipe below).

Basic Berry-Cherry Sauce:

makes quite a lot of sauce, but I dare you not the eat the leftovers straight out of the pot

2 cups fresh or frozen berries

1 cup frozen sweet or sour cherries

2 tbsp maple syrup (to taste, depending on sweetness of fruit)

2 tbsp chia seeds

Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer approx. 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened (just about the amount of time your pancake batter needs to sit). Turn off burner and let sauce sit uncovered for a few more minutes, since it will thicken more as it cools. Serve over pancakes, on toast, or mixed into oatmeal.