We eat a LOT of bananas in this household. Usually we can consume about four bunches in a week. Easily! Now, there are five of us so I suppose it isn’t too hard when you consider each of us having one most days. However, every once in a while something seems to change and suddenly I am left with a few too many ripe bananas. I try to encourage them as go-to snacks, slice and freeze a few more for smoothies, even fried them in butter and served with ice cream, not to mention the usual banana bread or muffins. Eventually the ripe ones get overripe and the fruit flies start to appear! Panic sets in – partly because I am horrified by the fruit flies and also because I cannot stand food waste.

What I need is a plethora of recipes for overripe bananas that allow me to choose at will how I am going to use them that day. The recent trend towards plant-based diets has helped with things like banana based ‘ice-cream’ and baking them into your morning oats with other fruits. But sometimes I want something a bit more traditional. Luckily I came across this recipe, which I have adapted, from Whole Foods. My kids love them! I find I need to make them small for them to work – I seem to have some weird issue with American style pancakes and cannot make any success with most recipes. However once I reduced the size to about 10cm across then they worked out okay?!  I also find I need to use Canadian or American bread flour to replicate the same effects, so this is what I have done here.

So, with guests due early this morning, I have the best excuse to use a good supply of my bananas and make these little gems of happiness! I know the kids are going to be thrilled, as they will be eating the generous supply (40-45 little pancakes) for most of the day!

Here we go…

• 55g (1/4 cup) butter, soft
• 100g (1/2 cup) castor sugar
• 3 bananas, overripe and mashed
• 2 eggs
• 350ml (1 1/2 cup) milk or soya milk
• 75g (1/3 cup) yoghurt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 300g (2cups) Strong Bread Flour
• 2tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Blend together the sugar and butter until smooth and then mix in the mashed bananas. Next, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Beat in the milk, yoghurt and vanilla. Set aside.

In another bowl, mix together the flour with the cinnamon, baking soda and salt. Then fold this mixture into the wet mixture until just combined. 

Heat a frying pan adding your usual oil over medium heat. Pouring small amounts of batter on to the hot pan (I tend to make three at a time using a serving spoon to measure out my batter) and allow to cool for a couple of minutes until bubbles appear. Flip over and continue to cook for a couple of minutes more before transferring to a warm plate. 

Note:

1. These freeze well! So you can make your batch and freeze the extras if you manage to have any left! Alternatively good just halve the recipe. 
2. Keep any extras in the fridge. They taste just as good cold for a snack!