(And a Solution)
Subtitled: Banana Pancakes? Who’d of thought?
The problem with pancakes (and this is the only problem as far as I can tell) is that one needs both the time to make them and all the ingredients. As a homeschooling mom whose one and only school-kid is picked up every single day by a very generous carpool, I pretty much always have the time.
But I do not always have the ingredients.
My very favorite pancake recipe* includes buttermilk which, alas, is a touch-and-go commodity around here. Either I buy too much and or not enough, you know? I am forever standing at the dairy case with a semi-complete grocery list in hand, wondering wondering wondering…
Do we have buttermilk at home or don’t we? And if we do, is it still good?
It’s a good thing that I know how to convert a cup of regular milk to the buttermilk variety, simply by adding a tablespoon of vinegar. It’s an okay substitution—good, but not great—and will get you by in a pinch.
Which brings me to our most recent substitution.
Angela came downstairs one morning and announced, “I want pancakes for breakfast.” Having denied her request for pancakes the day before—and being ever the doting momma—I said sure and began to assemble the ingredients.
With her help, of course.
She’s my Pre-K kid. This is her “school”.
Having already checked to see if we had buttermilk on hand, (we did), I felt confident that we were good to go. We sifted the dry ingredients and got out the butter, the buttermilk and the…wait a minute…oh heck. We were completely out of eggs.
(We go through three dozen eggs every couple of weeks.)
(Seriously.)
(We like our eggs.)
Feeling up to the challenge of thinking outside the box—or in this case (snort) the carton—I said, “Let’s look online to find a substitute for eggs.” Normally we would borrow some eggs from a neighbor (because we are just that old-fashioned) but it was 9:00 a.m. on a “work” day and we figured our odds weren’t good.
‘Lo, we did indeed find a substitute for eggs online, and it wasn’t the powdered WWII-era variety.
It was cornstarch.
Who’d have thought?
That’s what the conversion table said, though: You may substitute one tablespoon of cornstarch for an egg.
And then, because I kept reading even after I had found what I was looking for, (because that’s the sort of corrupting influence that is the Internet), I saw that you could also substitute bananas for eggs when baking.
Bananas? Really?
I had a banana! One banana!
“Let’s try it,” I said, and Cate (my 4th grader) shrugged good-naturedly.
My 5th grader looked skeptical but got the banana.
And my Pre-K kid screamed, “NO!”
“No! No! No! No!” She was lying on the floor at this point. “I don’t want bananas in my pancakes! I don’t like bananas in my pancakes!”
She’s never had bananas in her pancakes, mind you, but clearly that was beside the point.
We bashed on—or rather, mashed on—regardless and soon had a platter full of piping hot pancakes. They were light and fluffy; they were moist and tender; they were—in a word—delicious.**
My Pre-K kid ate four of them.
All for the greater glory of God,
*I may or may not post this recipe on my dusty old cooking blog. For now you can click on a printable recipe here.
**The only complaint that my older kids had was that they came across an occasional (squishy) lump of banana. I shrugged. Nobody’s perfect!
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Margaret – powdered buttermilk is a wonderful alternative to fresh – just add water and it keeps forever!
And that would be why I have a can of powdered buttermilk sitting [unopened] in the pantry! Thanks for the reminder, Ellen. 🙂
OK, I learned a lot today! Especially the powdered buttermilk! Sounds very yummy! I think I am making these tomorrow!
We regularly add fruit (bananas, but mostly blueberries) and sometimes chocolate chips to our pancakes. The addition is sprinkled on while the first side of the pancake is grilling.
Anyway, I've not heard of that substitution. Great use for all the too old, frozen bananas in my freezer that are waiting to become banana bread???
I, too, keep powdered buttermilk on hand. My MIL thinks it's silly because buttermilk rarely spoils, but… it does in my frig! So, powdered it is.
Can't wait to try these. Yum!
Confession: I buy Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake Mix. It is around $2 for a box, add water only and they aren't bad at all.
I also keep powdered buttermilk in my fridge, but not for pancakes 😀
I must admit to using Bisquick for pancakes (and biscuits, for that matter) because that's what my mom did and it is pretty fool-proof! I have been making an effort to try my hand at scratch recipes, so THANK YOU, Margaret, for sharing! I've had good luck with brownies and chocolate cake recently.
We used yogurt in place of buttermilk this week! It was awesome. If I ever get my post up, you can read al about it!
Our favorite stand-by pancakes are banana whole wheat. With cinnamon and some nutmeg, they are a little like a lighter banana bread. DH and I like walnuts in them, the kids like chocolate chips.
I usually use older bananas I'd saved in the freezer. I just mix them up with the eggs and milk — sometimes using a stick blender. This mixes them in well.
Delicious and more nutritious than "plain" pancakes!
I'm with you on buttermilk. If I buy it, I end up wasting some. So I usually do the vinegar in regular milk substitution.
Not only can you use yogurt as a buttermilk substitute, you can use milk soured with white vinegar as a buttermilk substitute, and it works quite well I think.
The rule of thumb is to add 1 Tbsp of white vinegar for each cup of milk. Add the vinegar to the milk and let it stand for a couple of minutes while you mix the dry ingredients. Voilà, a buttermilk substitute.
Sounds delish! And I agree with Ellen–I keep a container of powdered buttermilk in the fridge to use in a pinch.
Margaret–I have an egg/nut allergy kiddo and so yes I do know about the banana substition. We eat plenty of banana bread around here b/c it does not require egg and b/c Jacob loves it. Speaking of Jacob–if I had a blog I would post this: Monday he was opening a popcorn ball and a piece of popcorn flew out of the bag and bcame lodged under his eyelid!!!!! No, I am not making this up. Four days & three doctor trips later it is finally out and we have a bacterial infection to show for it….sigh. Thankfully he is on the mend:) Happy Weekend, Kelly in Tyler, TX.
I always use plain yogurt instead of buttermilk in my pancakes. And I love to slice some bananas on top before flipping them – no syrup needed!
Three dozen eggs? Every couple of weeks?! You don't like eggs enough. Six dozen a week, and that was before we had chickens. We feel justified in increasing consumption nowadays. 🙂
Oh, and I just started making buttermilk pancakes with the actual buttermilk that's left after making actual butter out of actual cream from an actual cow, and, besides just being impressed that such a thing is even possible, they're the best pancakes I've ever made. 🙂 We usually just make them plain milk, which comes out just fine.
Pancakes w/ added oatmeal and banana (and cinnamon/nutmeg) are a favorite around here!! Now I've got a craving! Yum.
Yum! I would have never thought to look for a sub for eggs – they seem so…unique. Who would've thought?
We love banana pancakes. Even better with a heaping cup of chocolate chips sprinkled in! 🙂
i know what you mean about the buttermilk. and it sour anyway so who knows if it's bad!
and even though i am not a banana person per se i do like it cooked in things. like breads and such. now i am really excited to try this recipe. that is once everyone is over this nasty flu!
because my kids actually all really love bananas!
thanks margaret!
Brilliant idea! Alas, bananas make my throat close.
Very clever solution to the problem of no eggs! If you are out of eggs AND bananas you can also substitute 1 T. flaxmeal mixed with 2-3 T. water. I grind the flax seeds (that keep in the freezer or fridge) in the coffee grinder. Then just mix them and let them sit for a few minutes. They make a gel that is just like an egg white. It acts as a binder and adds omega-3 fatty acids. Happy eating!