Vegan pancakes

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This vegan pancake recipe will be a surefire hit this Pancake Day for anyone following a vegan, egg-free or dairy-free diet. Lighter than their egg- and milk-based counterparts but just as delicious, you can enjoy these crêpes as a great vegan breakfast at any time of year.

First published in 2017

Pancakes are such a treat, which is totally bizarre given that they’re made with just a couple of ingredients and are essentially fried batter. It shows that pretty much any food can be given an aura of giddy excitement and occasion – especially when there's an entire day (Shrove Tuesday) devoted to them.

You would have thought that swapping out two-thirds of the ingredients from such a simple recipe may, well, completely ruin it. For this very reason, I assumed vegan pancakes were tricky to pull off.

How wrong I was. Flour, almond milk and oil, it turns out, have exactly the same kind of magic reaction when mixed together as flour, cow's milk and eggs.

The quantity of milk here is very provisional, as with all pancake recipes. I tested a few batches and found the slightly looser mixture easier to handle – these pancakes aren't as sturdy as the non-vegan version, so getting a good pan coverage first-time round was useful.

The only other difference is they take a bit more cooking to achieve a golden hue. But really, once they're sprinkled with sugar and lemon juice, spread with jam or drizzled with vegan chocolate spread, who cares what colour they are?

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Vegan crêpes

  • 220g of plain flour
  • 680ml of almond milk, maybe more to loosen
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 5 tbsp of vegetable oil, (or other neutral-flavoured oil) plus extra to cook the pancakes

Method

1
Add the flour and salt to a mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Gradually pour in the almond milk, whisking as you go until you get a smooth batter
2
Add the oil and whisk until smooth and combined
3
Heat a tiny dash of oil in a non-stick pan. Once hot, add a fine coating of the batter to the bottom and tilt the pan so it spreads out into a nice circle
4
Relax for a few minutes while the batter firms up – when the wobbly softness goes, pop a spatula under an edge to see how its coming along underneath. Once golden on the underside, flip it!
5
Keep cooking until the underside is also golden. Keep a close eye on it as I noticed that this side burnt a lot easier than the first side
6
Move onto a plate and keep warm while you cook the rest. Enjoy!
First published in 2017

After serving as head of content for Great British Chefs and Great Italian Chefs, in early 2019 Ella took the plunge and moved to Toulouse in pursuit of a life of cheese, pastis and cassoulet. She is now a freelance food editor, writer, and content specialist.

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