I had never been a huge pancake lover, until I started eating vegan. I stumbled across a recipe for vegan pancakes, and tweaked it a bit here and there until may taste buds told me it was perfect!

I am so involve with these pancakes, that I can eat them daily for days on end, and not get sick of them. Although, sometimes I am not sure if it’s just the pancakes I like so much, or the coconut butter and pure maple syrup I coat them with – Oh well! Either way, I have found a recipe that satisfies my dietary needs and makes my taste buds to back flips. If you are not a coconut butter fan (is there such thing?) I would recommend drizzling a hot fruit spread/syrup over the cakes when you sit down to enjoy.

What’s more than the fabulous flavour of these cakes, is the the ease of putting them together. I love that I only need to dirty one mixing bowl, and that I do not need to purchase fancy and specific ingredients to pull this recipe together. Most ingredients are fairly common pantry items to begin with, however, if you do not want/need to eat gluten and dairy free, feel free to substitute the gluten-free flour for gluten-full flour, and the almond milk for dairy milk.

This recipe also allows us to use the awesome ground flaxseed alternative for an egg, or a “flax egg”! In traditional baking, eggs add structure and strength to baked goods, as well as act as a foaming agent and an emulsifier. Although a flax egg will not necessarily add structure or act as a foaming agent as an egg will, it does make things stick together! When combined with liquid, flax takes on a gelatinous consistency (thanks to the epidermis of the seed), which is what does this “sticking” for us. Thank you flax gods!!!

If you are up for a bit of a fun and spicy twist on the traditional pancake taste, try adding turmeric and cardamom into the mix! If you are wondering, it is no coincidence that cinnamon, cardamom and turmeric share in their anticancer properties and they all made their way into this recipe – it is a miracle! From protection against free radical damage to anti-inflammatory properties, boosting the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments and shrinking tumours, these spices get a big “A” in the world of the “Big C”! This variation is great with an almond butter spread and maple syrup, or the old faithful coconut butter!

I hope you enjoy these Fabulous Flax-er Jacks as much as my sister and I do!!!

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Recipe: Fabulous Flax-er Jacks
-gluten free, dairy free, egg free

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon ground flaxseed
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

Optional:

• 2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cardamom

Putting them together:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, ground cinnamon and salt. Add turmeric and cardamom, if using.
2. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly, then push mixture to the sides of the bowl creating a dish in the centre of the mixture.
3. Add almond milk to the dish you created in the centre of the dry ingredients, followed by maple syrup, vanilla and applesauce. Mix wet ingredients together in the centre of the bowl first, then combine with the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly until you get lumps out of the batter.
4. Cook the pancakes in a pan on the stovetop over medium heat. Grease pan with coconut oil, and spoon out your desired pancake size dollops onto the pan, and spread batter out using a spoon, if necessary. Cook 3-5 minutes per side (until firm).
5. Serve with coconut butter and pure maple syrup, or a fruit spread.
6. Bon appetit!

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