These zesty pancakes are so fluffy and lemony delicious that your whole family will love! Whether you add fresh fruit or try a fruit preserve or compote with whipping cream, simply divine!!
These delicate light pancakes are rustic in their appearance but the texture and flavour from the lemon really gives it a light and freshness to the pancake. As I find some pancakes are heavy and very filling. I love the light texture of these and when you add fresh fruit, your favourite preserve or homemade blueberry compote, makes these really so delicious! Love the nutty flavour of spelt flour in these pancakes and spelt flour is known to be beneficial in many ways, one is digestion.
INGREDIENTS
- spelt flour: this flour has less gluten and is easier to digest: you can easily substitute a ratio of 1:1 for all-purpose flour
- raw cane fine sugar: is the only sugar I use, since it’s less processed; regular can be substituted
- baking powder: helps to make these pancakes fluffy
- salt
- lemon zest
- egg: add structure to these pancakes
- oat milk: can easily substitute for almond, coconut or regular milk
- lemon juice
- unsalted butter
- pure vanilla extract
- fresh strawberries/blueberries/raspberries or preserve or compote: I would not recommend frozen as it will make the pancakes wet
HELPFUL TIPS
Allow the pancake batter to rest for 5 minutes before dropping the batter in the hot skillet. Resting the batter allows the gluten in the flour to relax and results in fluffy and light pancakes.
Avoid of mixing whether you use spelt flour or all-purpose flour. Overmixing will result in crumbly flat pancakes. I noticed that when I overmixed the batter.
- Lumps in the batter is what you want and they will slow dissolve when the batter is resting.
- If you don’t have spelt flour, you can easily substitute regular all-purpose flour for the same amount.
Hot pan will result in even cooking and rising of the pancakes. A trick is to add a couple of drops of water, and if the water sizzles then it’s ready.
- You can substitute coconut milk, with almond or oat milk, or regular milk.
HOW TO MAKE THESE DELICIOUS PANCAKES
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
- Beat egg lightly in a medium bowl, stir in oat/almond/coconut milk, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Add liquid to the flour mixture and stir to just until the ingredients start coming together. The batter should still be lumpy. Do not over mix.
- Heat a griddle or fry pan/skillet, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, when heated, (if using a fry pan/skillet) swirl the pan to cover the bottom evenly. Add ¼ cup of the batter into the fry pan/skillet and spread the batter evenly. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until you see the bubbles forming on top of the pancake. Carefully flip the pancake and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer pancake to a serving platter. Cook the remaining batter and add vegetable oil as needed.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, berries, fruit compote or preserves with whipping cream.
If you have never use spelt flour before, I highly recommend it. It is an ancient grain that’s been around for centuries. It has a nutty flavour, and the reason for that is, when it is milled, it is produced from the whole spelt grain, leaving it as an unrefined flour that doesn’t require to be enriched. That is the reason why it is more nutritious then the regular wheat flour. The benefits to using spelt flour is it is easily digested compared to regular wheat flour and has a huge list of nutritional benefits.
If you happen to want to give this flour a try, keep it mind it is lighter in texture and can be easily substituted for all-purpose. Also, don’t over mix your ingredients, the results will be a more crumbly texture. It depends on what you are making, if you don’t want a cake to be crumby, then use half spelt and half all-purpose.
When you indulge in these pancakes, you will find a piece of strawberry throughout. It gives these pancakes a depth of flavour and sweetness. I love the idea of adding lemon to this pancakes. It offers a tangy citrus balance with the strawberries.
STORE the leftover pancakes in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in a sealed container. Pancakes can frozen as well for up to 2-3 months. I always like to place wax paper or parchment paper between them, that way it’s easy to remove one at time from the freezer.
Zesty Lemon Pancakes
Equipment
- large skillet or fry pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup light spelt flour
- 1 tsp fine raw sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 cup oat milk (or almond or coconut milk)
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- toppings: fresh or cooked berries
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
- Beat egg lightly in a medium bowl, stir in oat/almond/coconut milk, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla. Add liquid to the flour mixture and stir to just until the ingredients start coming together. The batter should still be lumpy. Do not over mix.
- Heat a griddle or fry pan/skillet, add 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil, when heated, (if using a fry pan/skillet) swirl the pan to cover the bottom evenly. Add ¼ cup of the batter into the fry pan/skillet and spread the batter evenly. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until you see the bubbles forming on top of the pancake. Carefully flip the pancake and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Transfer pancake to a serving platter. Cook the remaining batter and add vegetable oil as needed.
- Serve warm with maple syrup, berries, fruit compote or preserves with whipping cream.
