Four ingredients. Almost three, as the baking soda is just a pinch. This recipe will require a blender, as the porridge oats need to be pulverised into a fine flour, although I think you can buy oat flour and certainly, you could swap it for other flours if you prefer. As these pancakes are eggless, the banana does really need to be very soft and ripe. The one I used was very brown on the outside and that added significant sweetness to balance the tartness of the raspberry syrup.

Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, gooseberries or any combination would make a perfect syrup topping. I posted my recipe for a simple blueberry compote a few weeks ago, however it would work just as well by following the method here, though you may need to add more sugar if you’re using tarter berries, gooseberries for example. The yoghurt I used is made from coconut however you could finish these with any kind of creamy yoghurt or plant cream that you like.

The pancakes would also work wonderfully with a hefty pinch of cinnamon blended into the batter and a drenching in maple syrup and non-dairy butter, which I plan to enjoy very soon. The recipe serves one, making five small pancakes so it’s very easy to multiply the ingredients for company. I fried them in coconut oil because I like the taste, but you could use any oil, however do be mindful that strong tasting oil, such as olive oil, could alter the taste significantly.

INGREDIENTS (Serves One)

1/2 mug porridge oats

1 very ripe banana

Pinch of baking soda

5 tablespoons of plants milk, I used almond

Two handfuls of berries

1 teaspoon of sugar

Non-dairy yoghurt, several tablespoons

METHOD

Put the oats into a high speed blender, ensuring the blender is totally dry, any moisture will impede the making of the oat flour. Blitz the oats until they are completely pulverised into fine flour. Add the banana by breaking it up in your hands or slicing it, add the pinch of baking soda and the plant milk. Blitz again until you have a thick batter. If it’s too much like a paste, add another tablespoon of plant milk and blitz again. The banana ripeness and size could make some mixtures tighter than others.

Heat 2 teaspoons of coconut or another oil in a non-stick frying pan on a medium low heat. Use your tablespoon again to add a heaped spoon of batter to the pan, I can only fit 3 or 4 pancakes in the pan at one time as they must have room to turn and not stick to each other. They take around 5 minutes each side to achieve the golden colour. They are quite comfortingly stodgy, and will not rise much, not as much as wheat pancakes would.

Keep the pancakes warm, set them to one side. You can use the same pan or a different one if it’s still very oily, add just over half the berries and the sugar, and cook them down for a couple of minutes over the same heat, stirring them a few times to make sure the fruit breaks down a little.

Layer the pancakes into a stack to serve , alternately with the slightly stewed berry syrup and generous spoonfuls of yoghurt. Finish by sprinkling with the remaining fresh berries.