- Makes 8 fluffy pancakes, each approximately 15cm in diameter - Enough for 2 to 3 adults – Ready in a few minutes! –
*Uses up 340g of raw (peeled and de-seeded) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh*
Make sure you don't include any seeds when making the puree. The seeds can be soaked and roasted to make a delicious snack - here is the recipe link for 'Soaked and Roasted Pumpkin Seeds'.
Gather together…
340g raw (skin and seeds removed) pieces of pumpkin / butternut squash OR use 3/4 cup (170g) tinned pumpkin puree. Yes, you read it right, 340g of raw flesh makes 170g of puree. If you use tinned puree and don't like waste, make a batch of these pancakes (i.e. 8 pancakes) and two batches Pumpkin Cookies (24 cookies), to use up a full tin of pumpkin puree.
1 cup (140g) of self-raising flour (no need to sieve).
2 tsp baking powder (sieved).
3 tbsp brown sugar (any brown sugar is fine).
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
1/4 tsp ground ginger.
1/8 tsp ground cloves OR ground nutmeg.
1/4 tsp salt (fine grained).
2 medium or large eggs.
3/4 cup milk (plus 1 - 2 tsp milk, if needed, later).
1/4 cup oil such as rapeseed oil or sunflower oil (olive oil is too flavoursome).
Serve with…
16 x edible sugar craft eyes (available in packs of 50 eyeballs from these Supermarkets, or Amazon or from Hobbycraft) to decorate OR use Smarties with a dot of melted chocolate added to the centre of each (you'll need 2-3 cardboard tubes of Smarties unless you can cope with non-matching eye colour pairs).
Maple syrup / runny honey to drizzle over (optional).
Get making…
1. If needed, make the 170g of pumpkin puree from 340g of skinless and seedless raw pumpkin / butternut squash (yes, you need double the raw flesh for - roughly - the right amount of puree) - use a potato peeler to turn the pumpkin flesh into long, thin strips OR cut it into very thin slices with a knife (I usually end up with a mixture of peelings and slicings). Then place it into a large microwavable bowl (e.g. a pyrex dish), add 4 tbsp of water, cover the bowl with a vented lid (to allow some of the steam to escape, so you don't get burnt by a rush of steam when opening the lid) and microwave on HIGH for 15 minutes. Then very carefully (as it is HOT) drain the liquid away with a sieve and then blitz the cooked pumpkin with a handheld stick blender until smooth - this will take about 1 minute. If it seems watery, use the sieve again to remove more water. Now spread the puree out thinly on a dinner plate and let the puree cool for AT LEAST 15 minutes before using - so you don't scramble the eggs! Do weigh out the correct amount needed before using as you'll probably have a bit of puree leftover - stir into a pasta dish or a smoothie, or make a spiced latte, so it isn't wasted.
2. In a medium jug, combine the 1 cup (140g) of self-raising flour (no need to sieve), the 2 tsp baking powder (SIEVED), the 3 tbsp brown sugar, the 1 tsp ground cinnamon, the 1/4 tsp ground ginger, the 1/8 tsp ground cloves OR ground nutmeg, the 1/4 tsp salt, the 2 eggs, the 3/4 cup milk and the 1/4 cup of oil. Also add in the 3/4 cup (170g) of (room temperature) pumpkin puree.
3. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together briskly, for about 30 seconds.
4. Brush a large frying pan / flat griddle pan with 1/2 tsp of oil using a silicone brush (keep the oily silicone brush to hand as you'll need it again).
5. Preheat the frying pan / griddle over a medium heat for 2 minutes, until the thin layer of oil is smoking slightly.
6. Then turn the hob down to its lowest heat setting and heat at that lower temperature for 2 further minutes.
7. Use a 1/3 cup measure to ladle a portion of mixture out of the jug and pour it into the centre of the pre-heated pan (now on the very LOW hob heat).
8. The mixture should spread out slightly all by itself to form a circa 15cm diameter pancake. (If the mixture is too thick to spread, ease it out into a circle with the back of a spoon. Then (if the batter is too thick) add 1 - 2 tsp extra milk to the remaining mixture to thin it just enough to allow future pancakes to spread out).
9. Set a timer and cook the pancake for 2 minutes on EACH side. (This is slightly longer per side than the sourdough pancakes, as the puree has a higher water content.) After the first 2 minutes, turn over the pancake with a fish slice. DO NOT squash the pancake down with the fish slice, you want it to puff up and rise for the deliciously fluffy texture.
10. Then turn the pancake back over, so it is the same way up as it first was, and bake for a final 20 seconds (or however long it takes to achieve the colour you are aiming for - as it's on a very low heat, the pancake can happily sit there for a minute or so extra whilst you gather a plate and cutlery and toppings, without burning).
11. Serve the pancake on a plate topped with edible googly eyes and a drizzle of runny honey or maple syrup, or eat it without additions - they are yummy however you eat them!
12. Before you make the next pancake, swirl the oily silicone brush (it will be oily from when you brushed the pan the first time, don't add any more oil) around the hot frying pan and let the oil heat for 1 minute (still keeping the hob heat set to very LOW). Then follow the above steps starting at step 7.
13. These pancakes need to be eaten freshly made, please don't chill them or freeze them.
14. Any leftover mixture can be covered with a beeswax wrap and kept in the fridge for 24 hours if needed - then whisked again briefly with a fork and used as above from step 4 onwards.
Adapted from recipes on dontwastethecrumbs.com and from 'A Couple Cooks' website recipe for Fluffy Pumpkin Pancakes by Sonja Overhiser, and from my friend E's husband Rich/Gary's weekend pancake recipe.