Of Random Things #178: Buttermilk Banana Pancakes

I bought some nicely brown spotted bananas the other day. Instead of using the recipe which I had previously attempted, I followed another recipe that uses buttermilk instead of regular milk.

Buttermilk can be easily accessible in Brunei so I used store bought one. If you are unable to find buttermilk nearby, you can home made them with regular milk and vinegar/lemon. Take 2 tablespoons of vinegar/lemon with enough regular milk or almond to equal 2 cups.

Buttermilk Banana Pancakes (adapted from kitchen TREATY)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 small or 1 large ripe banana *1.5 large ripe bananas*
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp melted unsalted butter *canola oil*
• 2 tsp vanilla extract *omitted*
• 2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar *sweet condensed milk*
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a clean mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients – all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Sift and set aside.
2. In a blender, add in bananas, eggs, canola oil, sweet condensed milk and buttermilk. Blend until you get a smooth consistency.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until well combined and be careful not to over-mix the batter. Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes. It should form bubbles and rise a bit.
4. Heat a non-stick frying pan over low heat. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter and cook for about two to three minutes, or until bubbles formed on the surface of the batter. Flip over and cook until both sides are evenly browned.
5. Remove from frying pan and serve with your preferred toppings.

This recipe yielded approximately 20 medium sized pancakes. The wet ingredients turned bubbly when they were blended in a blender. The batter thickened up further and rose a bit after 5 minutes or so.

Texture wise, the pancakes were soft and fluffy. You may have noticed that I had omitted the vanilla extract from the recipe. I had previously attempted a recipe which incorporated vanilla extract and I find the flavoring too overpowering for my liking. I personally prefer these pancakes tasting al natural from the bananas. LOL!

You can top the pancakes with any toppings of your preference, be it maple syrup, honey, chocolate syrup, sweet condensed milk, butter or peanut butter. My personal all-time favorite is peanut butter. Peanut butter with pancakes is dangerously addictive and sinful at the same time.

Mom commented that the pancakes tasted rather bland for her liking. I didn’t realize that they were bland as I had mine with peanut butter this morning. I had a piece without peanut butter an hour ago and it was indeed a little bit bland but the taste of banana was pretty distinctive in my opinion.

As buttermilk was one of the main ingredients in this recipe, it neutralized the sweetness of the bananas. I would suggest increasing the quantity of sugar or sweet condensed milk if you prefer a sweeter version.