Lemon and Poppyseed Pancakes

I love indulging with these pancakes for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast or brunch. The delicate lemon flavour is perfectly balanced in these pikelet style pancakes. There's quite a bit of preparation required to make them so the recipe is definitely one for the weekend, rather than a day-to-day breakfast. That said, you can make the chia egg and oat flour the night before if you want to get ahead. They're so delicious that it's definitely worth the little extra effort to make them. I love serving the pancakes topped with homemade blueberry compote (find the recipe here) and natural coconut yoghurt- it's a match made in heaven!

Three great health benefits: beneficial for heart health, good source of fibre, anti-inflammatory

Makes 9 pancakes

Enjoy immediately 

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp chia seeds

200ml almond milk

Juice and zest of a lemon (I always use unwaxed)

1 cup gluten free oats

3 tbsp coconut oil (liquid)

1/2 tsp vanilla paste

2 tbsp coconut sugar

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp poppyseeds

Generous pinch sea salt

1) Make a chia "egg" by combining the chia seeds with 3 tbsp water. Set aside for approximately 20 minutes until a thick gel has formed. Stir. 

2) Meanwhile, make "buttermilk" by combining the almond milk with 2 tbsp of the lemon juice in a jug. Set aside for 10 minutes until it appears curdled. Stir.

3) Meanwhile, make oat flour by blitzing the oats in a food processor until a fine crumb is produced. 

4) Add 2 tbsp of the coconut oil along with the remaining lemon juice, vanilla and chia "egg" to the "buttermilk". Whisk to combine thoroughly. 

5) In a separate bowl, mix together the oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, poppyseeds, lemon zest and salt.

6) Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk together to remove any lumps.

7) Heat a little of the remaining coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. 

8) Add a little of the pancake batter (I used an ice-cream scoop to measure it out) to the frying pan in a rough circular or pikelet shape. Cook for approximately one minute before flipping and cooking for a further minute on the other side. Keep a close eye on the pancake to ensure it doesn't burn. Remove the pancake and set aside on a plate. 

9) Repeat steps 7 (as required) and 8 until all of the batter is used up and you have a lovely plate of pancakes! Enjoy immediately.

Let me know if you try out this recipe! Tag me on Twitter @HaloEats or Instagram @halo.eats