Who does not like pancakes? But of course they have to be good - I cannot eat the slim wet batter dough pancakes that refuse to absorb any topping that they are served with. So I found the perfect pancake recipe that I have shared here. With the healthy eating spree came the million dollar question - can I not eat pancakes anymore? Laden with syrup and made with all purpose flour, they are far from being termed as healthy. But as much as the kids and I love to eat pancakes, I had to come up with a healthy recipe that would allow us to have our favourite breakfast. And now that I have, they are a regular every Sunday morning. We look forward to these pancakes, soft and pillowy and loaded with the good stuff!

The key to making these healthy has been the use of whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour. The other reason I call them healthy is that I don't need to serve them with any syrup at all. It does not matter how nice the pancakes are, kids will look for sugar to eat them with and sometimes chocolate syrup. So the way out was to add mini chocolate chips to the pancakes after putting the batter on the pan/griddle. They give enough chocolaty flavour that the kids don't miss the sugar laden syrups and since we use mini chocolate chips, we end up adding a lot less chocolate than we would have added vs the same amount of regular sized chips.

For myself, I love to have plain pancakes with fresh berries. Combine chopped/halved mixed berries in a bowl and add 1 tsp of icing sugar. Leave it aside for 10 minutes while you prepare the pancakes. They release some of their juice as they rest which makes a lovely sauce for the pancakes. If the berries are not too sweet the icing sugar can be increased by 1-2 tsp and vanilla extract or seeds from vanilla beans can be added to them for enhancing the flavour. I have finally figured out to eat my pancakes every week without feeling guilty and I invite you to try these as well. What I have shared above are just a couple of ways to enjoy them healthily. Another favourite of mine is to add mashed bananas and cinnamon powder to the pancake batter or just add dried fruits and nuts to make it a fruit and nut pancake.

This batter has some changes vs. the batter in my previous recipe and the biggest one being the change in amount of leavening used. Whole wheat flour tends to be more dense so more leavening is needed to ensure the pancakes are still fluffy. Whole wheat flour can sometimes have a bran like taste to it. The easiest way to mask this flavour is to add vanilla extract to it. I have found this to be very useful in all sweet baking I do with this flour and even wholemeal flour. The hint of vanilla flavour works every single time! Since these pancakes are intended to be had without syrup, I have added another extra teaspoon of sugar and have replaced the butter with just 1 teaspoon oil.

This batter can be doubled or even tripled easily. Just make the batter once and continue to cook the pancakes till done. I use this recipe when I have guests over - just make the pancakes batter and as you are cooking them, make 2-3 different types of pancakes by using different toppings. The pictures used in this blog entry were taken over two separate preparations of pancakes so the preparation pictures may seem a bit different throughout the post but the recipe and end result were identical.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk, plus 1 tablespoon more if necessary

1 large egg, separated

1 tsp vegetable oil (or any other flavorless oil)

1 tsp vanilla extract

vegetable oil for brushing pan

Method:

1. Mix flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.

2. Pour buttermilk and 1/4 cup milk into a mixing bowl or 2 cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk in egg white and vanilla extract.

3. Mix yolk with oil, then add to the milk mixture.

4. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients all at once; whisk until just combined.

5. Meanwhile heat a griddle or large skillet over strong medium heat. Lightly brush the pan with oil. When water splashed on the surface sizzles, pour batter, about 1 serving spoon/small ladle at a time, onto griddle making sure not to overcrowd.

6. At this point, add the mini chocolate chips/other toppings of your choice. You can add blueberries,

dry fruits or nuts even.

7. When pancake bottoms are brown and top surface starts to bubble, 2 to 3 minutes, flip pancakes and cook until browned, 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve hot.