Monday 20 February 2023

Top tips for proper pancakes, vegan style from Fergus Smithers

 Fergus’ top tips for vegan pancakes are:-

Firstly, you should opt for American-style pancakes.

Why? Fergus Smithers who is a vegan chef and head of recipe development at plant-based recipe subscription box Grubby explains why : “American pancakes tend to work best when making vegan pancakes because the batter holds together better when it's cooking. 

"However it is still perfectly possible to make a traditional crepe style pancake, but you will have to be especially gentle when flipping them to avoid them tearing.” 

Don’t overmix 

“My secret to dairy-free pancakes is to make sure you don't overmix the batter. It might sound obvious, but if you overmix the batter it will make your pancakes dense and chewy rather than having them light and fluffy. 

"You'll also have to ensure that your pan is hot. A cold pan will result in a flat pancake, so always add your batter to a pre-heated pan with a little oil or vegan butter.” 

Avoid oat milk 

“I’d always recommend unsweetened plant-based milk for pancakes like soy or almond. You could use sweetened if you have a sweet tooth, but I find soy and almond make a delicious batter that’s not too sweet and works well for both sweet and savoury toppings. 

You can use oat milk, but it tends to give you a more stodgy pancake.” 

Allow the batter a bit of a rest 

“When mixing your batter, always use a whisk and slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients to make the batter as light and airy as possible and make sure you remove any lumps. You can also sift the flour from a height to get more air into the batter. 

"Finally, leave the batter to rest for about 5-10 minutes before you start cooking to help remove any clumps of flour for a more even cook when frying your pancakes."

Fergus’ fail-safe vegan pancake recipe:

Ingredients

150g     Plain flour

1tbsp    Baking powder

60ml     Crackd egg replacement 

2tsp      Sugar 

250ml   Plant-based milk

Method 

Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, and then add in the sugar and mix. 

Add the Crackd egg replacement and plant-based milk to a separate bowl, then slowly pour into the flour mix and whisk until it forms a smooth batter. 

Preheat a large frying pan with a little vegan butter. Pour in the batter to the pan and leave to cook on each side for 1-2 minutes, until air bubbles start to form on the top. Once the bottom side is golden brown, carefully flip the pancakes and cook for a further minute. 

Remove from the pan and eat whilst warm. 

“Smores” style pancake toppings

Digestive biscuits 

Vegan marshmallows 

Chocolate peanut butter

Break apart the biscuits

Toast the marshmallows 

Spoon over the chocolate peanut butter


Mango, banana and coconut

Mango

Banana 

Coconut yoghurt 

Desiccated coconut 

Strawberry 

Lime 

Dark chocolate 

Peel and dice the mango into a small bowl. Grate in the zest and juice of the lime and mix well.

Slice the banana. 

Toast the desiccated coconut in a frying pan until golden brown. 

Gently melt the dark chocolate, then drizzle over at the end. 

To learn more about Grubby please visit https://grubby.co.uk/about-us

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