Banana Choc Chip Pancakes

I had the idea for these ages ago and I am thrilled to have finally put them together.  Now I am sort of kicking myself that I hadn’t made them sooner as my whole house is now obsessed.  The result is these delicious golden pancakes with gently, melted dark chocolate with a hint of cinnamon.  The banana gives them the most wonderful texture and they are gluten-free.  If you want to keep these dairy-free then fry with groundnut oil instead of butter.

Makes 7 (enough for 2)

Ingredients:

2 medium bananas (200g)

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

80g dark chocolate (70% coco solids), roughly chopped into pieces

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp ground almonds

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

40g salted butter for frying

maple syrup and icing sugar for serving

In a mixing bowl mash the bananas with a fork until they are completely broken down.  Mix in the chocolate pieces, ground almonds, cinnamon, vanilla extract and egg.  Evenly sieve in the bicarbonate of soda and set a large frying pan to a medium to high heat.  Add a little butter into the pan and allow it to melt before spooning in the batter.  Use 2 heaped tablespoons of the mix per pancake and fry for about 2 minutes on one side before carefully turning them over to a nice golden colour.  Cook on the other side for about a minute more until they have puffed up a bit.  Make the pancakes in batches of 2-3 depending on the size of the pan and continue making them until all the batter is finished.  Serve hot with a little bit more butter and a good drizzle of maple syrup.