banana pancakes

I bet you’ve heard of the ol’ smashed avocado debate. Last year millionaire Tim Gurner came under fire when he shared some advice with the youth of Australia. He advised one to ditch the avocado on toast (a popular brunch dish bought in trendy cafes) and to put that money into buying a house instead.

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Image courtesy of https://www.theguardian.com

Cork Daddy and I used to go out for breakie all the time when Charlotte was a baby, sleeping obediently wrapped up in her sparkly new Bugaboo (I’m sure someone out there has told new parents to ditch the designer prams if they want to get ahead too).

These days the girls seem to have ants in their pants the second we sit down in a cafe. We generally last long enough for the adults to down their ‘hot coffees’, which is just long enough for the girls to spill their milkshakes on the floor (more often than not) and to ask for ‘more banana bread’.

Throwback to Cork Daddy and his baby girls at Trail Street Coffee Shop in Wagga NSW.

So if you’re wanting to buy your first home and are inspired to ditch the avocado on toast; or you’re simply looking for some breakie inspo – you might want to give these easy and very inexpensive banana pancakes a try. Unlike smashed avo on toast – these pancakes wont go anywhere near $20 a pop, they taste delicious and the mixture can be doubled to feed a small army when friends are staying over.

The olive oil and mashed banana in these pancakes result in a lovely light and fluffy texture and you can serve them up with some natural yoghurt and honey, taking the leftovers to work with you. They taste just as good cold, with a generous smear of butter. I’m sure trendy cafes would serve these pancakes with some maple bacon or something equally as decadent but I don’t think you need it.

It’s also a thrifty way to use up all of those browning bananas in the fruit bowl. Not sure if the money you’ll save on wasted fruit will buy you an apartment in a trendy Sydney suburb, but surely its gotta be a step in the right direction.

And I’m not at all denouncing my love of the coffee shop. Surely theres gotta be room in our lives for both. There’s nothing better than some home cooked pancakes, shared with loved ones sitting round in some jarmies on the weekend.

Nothing better in the world.

Except for maybe some smashed avo on toast at Trail Street.

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Trail Street Coffee Shop. Image courtesy of Visit Wagga.

banana pancakes

1 x cup of plain flour
2 x teaspoons of baking powder
A pinch of salt
1 x tablespoon of castor sugar
1 x egg
1 x cup of milk
1 x small teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 x tablespoons of olive oil
2 x very ripe bananas, mashed
Butter, for greasing the pan
Natural yoghurt, strawberries and honey to serve (optional)
Icing sugar, to dust (optional)

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in to a mixing bowl and mix with a fork.
In another mixing bowl, crack the egg in and add the milk, vanilla and olive oil. Add the mashed banana and stir using the fork.
Now simply gradually add the dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients, whilst whisking with the fork. (Don’t worry that the mixture won’t be entirely smooth – the banana will make it lumpy).
Add some butter to a non stick frying pan and heat over a low to medium heat. Using a tablespoon, in batches, add spoonfuls of the batter to the pan and let the pancakes cook on the first side for a couple of minutes or until you start to see bubbles forming. Using an egg flip, turn the pancakes over and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Lo’s tips

You can substitute the castor sugar with white sugar, raw sugar or coconut sugar.
Don’t overcrowd the pan whilst cooking these pancakes.
Make sure that the pan isn’t turned up too hot or else the butter will burn and the pancakes will just blacken on the outside.