Celebrating 8 Years of Apple & Spice with Apple & Cinnamon Oat Pancakes with Caramel Sauce

Wow it’s hard to believe my little blog has been going 8 years! As is my tradition on my blogs anniversary, I was in need of an apple inspired recipe to celebrate. I always like to try and do something a little different and as Pancakes Day (Shrove Tuesday) is tomorrow, pancakes seemed the ideal treat.

I thought about doing traditional pancakes, but also wanted something a bit more healthy and substantial to eat for brunch and decided instead to create pancakes using ground up gluten free oats in place of any flour. They are also sugar free, being naturally sweetened with freshly grated apple (skin on) and a dash of cinnamon for a flavour boost. I’d consider them fairly healthy – just don’t look too closely at the caramel sauce I then drizzled over them!

Using the oats as the only ‘flour’ base worked well, and together with the grated apple, gave the pancakes a nubbly soft texture and a delicious slightly nutty flavour where the outer edges had toasted in the pan. The inside texture wasn’t quite as fluffy as regular pancakes, but softer and moister with a definite porridge flavour. However, as a porridge and breakfast lover I was delighted with this. I think these would make fantastic breakfast fodder with a little yoghurt and fresh fruit.

The batter won’t win any awards in the looks department, it is a little lumpy and brown in colour, but the taste and toppings soon perk them up.

I decided to use almond milk in the pancakes as I like its subtle nutty flavour and creaminess, but you can use regular milk too. As they stand the pancakes themselves are also dairy free, but you’d have to use a different sauce if you wanted to make the whole dish dairy free. Maple syrup would be a delicious alternative! Oaty, apple packed and lightly cinnamon spiced these pancakes were a tasty way to celebrate 8 years of Apple & Spice.

This year I’ve managed to combine 3 of my food loves – apple, spice and breakfast all in one – hurrah! See below for my previous years apple inspired treats.

1st year – Spiced Apple Cake

2nd year – Individual Apple & Oat Crumbles

3rd year – Overnight Spiced Apple Stack

4th year – Fruity Tea Loaf

5^th year – Roasted Apple & Custard Pots

6^th year – Apple, Caramel & Almond Tart with Peanut Praline

^7th year – Apple & Hazelnut Upside Down Double Layer Cake

This Years Apple & Cinnamon Oat Pancakes with Caramel Sauce

Pancakes

50g gluten free oats

1 large red eating apple

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp baking powder

100ml almond milk

1 egg

1 tbsp sunflower oil

Sauce

½ tin carnation caramel

3-4 tbsp almond milk

Handful of pecans, to serve

Method

Heat the oven to 100C. Lay a piece of kitchen roll over a large plate and place into the oven to warm. Also add a couple of serving plates.

Start by making the sauce. Heat the caramel and milk together in a small pan until a nice warm drizzling consistency. Transfer to a small serving jug and set aside.

To make the pancakes, blitz the gluten free oats in a processor until they are broken down. They should resemble coarse flour, you don’t want it completely powdery. Add to a mixing bowl.

Quarter the apple, remove the core and grate it into the bowl, keeping the skin on.

Add the cinnamon and baking powder and stir together.

Measure the milk, add the egg and lightly whisk together. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mix and beat together to incorporate. You should have a fairly thick dropping consistency batter. Add a little more milk if too stiff.

Heat a large frying pan and brush the base with a little oil. Add heaped tablespoons of the pancake mix and form into round shapes with the back of the spoon.

Allow to cook over a low heat for 1 minute before flipping over with a pallet knife and cooking for a further 30 seconds, or until slightly puffed and browned.

Remove from the pan and transfer to the large plate covered with kitchen roll in the oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining batter.

When ready to serve divide the pancakes between the plates, top with a handful of pecans and drizzle with the caramel sauce.

Makes 8 small pancakes