As I'm sure all of you know, Valentine's Day is coming up in just a couple of days. Perhaps lesser known is the fact that there are actually two special holidays this week, and today is one of my favourite holidays of the year: Pancake Tuesday!
Pancake Tuesday, also known as Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, is a holiday that I've grown up with. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, today is the last day before Lent and was traditionally associated with eating a rich meal to use up ingredients like eggs and milk, which is how pancakes became the customary meal eaten on this day!
For my family and I, we just liked having a reason to eat breakfast for dinner once a year, and we always looked forward to making a big batch of different types of pancakes to enjoy together.
So in honour of that tradition, I have a new pancake recipe to share with you today! I actually made these about a month ago when I picked up my first persimmons ever from the market and needed to come up with ideas for ways to use them.
Persimmons look sort of like tomatoes and taste similar to apricots, with notes of spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. The Fuyu variety (which I bought) has a firm texture that softens up a bit when cooked, so I thought they would make an amazing pancake topping. All you need to do is chop your persimmons and simmer them on the stove with warm spices and maple syrup until they get nice and soft, warm and gooey. The best way I think to describe the flavour of the topping was that it tasted like Christmas!
Since I also had some blueberries on hand, I decided to make blueberry pancakes as the base for my persimmon topping, which turned out to be the perfect choice! Blueberry pancakes were always my favourite kind of pancake to eat on Pancake Tuesday, and they paired so well with the persimmons.
The pancakes themselves were super thick and fluffy from the addition of coconut flour - a tip I picked up from Peachy Palate (who has tons of other vegan pancake recipes on her blog too!). These were on the denser side though, so if you prefer a lighter pancake, feel free to use your own vegan pancake recipe as the base, but I highly recommend adding the blueberries!
I thought these hearty blueberry spelt pancakes with the warm persimmon topping made for a nice filling winter breakfast, and they could also be a great dinner tonight for those of you planning to celebrate Pancake Tuesday!
Single Serving Vegan Blueberry Pancakes with Persimmon Topping
Note: I used this pancake recipe from Peachy Palate, but feel free to use your own favourite vegan pancake recipe, with blueberries added to the batter (see directions below).
Persimmon Topping
1 ripe Fuyu persimmon, peeled and chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch each of cardamom, nutmeg and
cloves
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp maple syrup
Place all ingredients in a
small saucepan and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the
persimmons are soft. If it starts to look too dry, add another tablespoon of water.
Keep warm on low heat until
the pancakes are ready.
Pancakes
1 recipe for coconut flour pancakes (just the pancakes, not the toppings)
Note: I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp vanilla to the batter for more flavour
~1/3 cup blueberries
Follow the recipe directions for the pancakes in the link above. When you add the batter to the pan to cook the pancakes, add a handful of blueberries to each pancake, distributing them evenly and pressing them into the batter with your fingers. Flip and cook the other side of the pancake.
Serve warm, topped with
persimmon sauce and more maple syrup if desired.
Makes 1 large serving (3
pancakes)
