Whole Wheat Nutella, Peanut Butter & Banana Pancakes

Soooo...weekend is here! What plans people? I am heading out to a little shop in Old Delhi which stocks wholesale baking supplies - tins, pans, decorating tools etc. I adore all the amazing cakes people bake and till now, I have only made a very strange buttercream. It was nice but it smelled of butter. Sigh. Another day, another time.

Since weekends are all about lazing in, a late breakfast makes sense right? I have made these several times and I love, love, love them! I prefer using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose 'cos it has more fiber and of course, my obsession with oats is well known. The best part is these don't have a single drop of butter or oil, except the one used for frying. On a nonstick pan, five pancakes need 5 tsp oil for frying so this is kind of low fat (don't think about the sugar, okay?).

Whole Wheat Nutella, Peanut Butter & Banana Pancakes - makes six medium sized pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 cup buttermilk (no buttermilk? 1 cup milk + 1 tsp white vinegar)
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 tbsp Nutella or chopped dark chocolate or cocoa powder (if using cocoa powder, increase sugar to 1/4 cup)
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 egg white
1/4 tsp salt
1 large ripe banana, mashed

Add oats to the 1/2 cup milk, mix and keep for 10 minutes. Using a handheld mixer or a whisk, beat the egg white till stiff peaks form and set aside.

In another mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients and brown sugar. Mix Nutella, peanut butter, mashed banana, and buttermilk with the milk soaked oats till the chocolate spread and peanut butter are well incorporated. Its best to use ingredients at room temperature for ease of mixing.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and fold lightly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add the egg whites at the last stage. Let the batter sit for about 5-6 minutes.

Heat a tsp of cooking oil on a nonstick griddle on medium heat and spoon the batter using a ladle to ensure evenness. Flip over when bubbles appear on the top. Cook on medium or low heat to avoid burning.

Lemon Brown Sugar Syrup

3 cups water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

In a large saucepan, add all the ingredients and cook till the syrup thickens - around 15 minutes. Cool and serve with pancakes.

Simple right? I generally make syrup at home because I hate the artificial flavor of commercial syrup. See there are three pancakes in the picture but I managed to eat only one and a half :(

Have a great weekend..at least whatever is left of it!