Apple and Spice Pancakes

Sitting here, after a late night, looking blankly at my iPad wondering what to have for breakfast. Nothing special today, just your typical autumn Sunday morning cold outside, cold inside…. Does it wake me up? Hmmm, nope! Wanting something warm is a prerequisite. Well that can be anything. Looking through my recipes I decide autumn is associated with leaves falling, apples, spices …..That’s it , I’ll make pancakes filled with apple and warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. And I think some warm vanilla custard would be nice too.

Its summer here in Australia and I had written a bit of a blog post for this recipe last winter or was it the winter before. Sometimes life is so full, gardening, cooking, creating, housework and then there is sickness and parents growing older and ailing health. Before you know it another year has passed and you haven’t reached your goal.

When’s that cookbook coming out? I was hearing this a lot and it added to my stress and frustration. And just to let you know, that cookbook is happening. Keep a lookout for an announcement
Anyway, sometimes your heading full steam ahead and then life throws you a curved ball or two or three. It knocks you over and you sit there on the ground wondering what had just happened. You pick yourself up and just as you start to dust yourself off ….. bam, it happens again. Well let me tell you, you just gotta pick yourself up.

It’s the middle of summer, and I’m sitting at the kitchen table with a big, thick jumper,  talking to you. Its strange this year more so with the seasons. Not sure whats happening but two days ago we were melting with 40 degree celsius  temperatures, power blackouts, yes they still happen in this day and age and then this cold front comes through and I’m shivering. Today’s top temperature is 19 degrees celsius. Big change from 2 days ago.

And I suppose because the weather is not consistently warm my vegetable garden isn’t producing as good as years gone by. That also reflects with the fruit trees. Last year I had a glut of apples, this year we will be lucky to just have a few to eat if the codling moth and birds don’t get them first.

This recipe was created a year or two ago when I had a glut of apples from my little Apple Tree. Organic fresh beautiful apples damaged by codling moth so they weren’t very nice to give away. Beautiful, Crisp, apples, some a little distorted, others with damage, but in all honesty I’d rather eat these apples then ones which are sprayed to no end with chemicals and then made shiny with a coating of wax…..Poisons trapped and then ingested.

Remember the story of snow white and the seven dwarfs, when the old lady gives her the shiny red apple, believe me there is truth to that story. It’s like those horrible apples available in abundance, everywhere. That’s so unhealthy and toxic. So if you have an apple tree, or can get hold of organic apples, it’s so much better for your health. So here is my recipe for my apple and spice pancakes followed by my vanilla bean custard. Grain free, gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free. It can’t get better than that. Yes it can, its got beautiful, sweet apples in it.

Oh and when you’ve made the pancakes don’t throw away the apple skins and cores( organic apples only), use them to make your own apple cider vinegar. No need to buy vinegar, this stuff is amazingly easy to make and tastes great too. Let me know how you go with the pancakes. When I make pancakes, it’s just for the two of us, so I freeze any remaining pancakes and they’re ready for next time. Also if you don’t have time in the mornings then make these the night before and store in refrigerator  them just reheat in the morning.

Oh and the apple cake spice blend is just gorgeous. I love this in hot chocolate, cakes, cookies, puddings and even in preserves. No need to buy expensive blends full of fillers, together we can make our own, saving time and money and getting satisfaction from our homemade creations.

APPLE AND SPICE PANCAKES WITH VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

APPLE CAKE SPICE BLEND

1 tablespoon Cinnamon Powder
2 teaspoons Nutmeg Powder
2 teaspoons Ginger Powder
1 teaspoon Allspice Powder
Pinch Ground Cloves
½ teaspoon ground Black Pepper

VANILLA BEAN CUSTARD

1 ½ cups Almond Milk
¼ cup Maple Syrup 
½ teaspoon Vanilla Bean Powder
3 tablespoons Tapioca made into paste with a little water

APPLE AND SPICE PANCAKES

1 ½ cups Almond flour/meal
¼ Teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Apple Cake Spice mix
½ cup Tapioca Flour/starch or Cassava Flour
3 teaspoons Baking Powder
4 medium Apples, peeled and grated
3 Eggs
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
½ to 1 cup Almond Milk
Coconut oil or Ghee for frying

TOPPINGS

Dried Mulberries
Walnuts
Cinnamon
Grated Apple
Maple Syrup

METHOD – APPLE CAKE SPICE BLEND

Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves and pepper in a small bowl till well combined. Store in an airtight jar and use as needed.

METHOD – CUSTARD

Put milk in small saucepan. Add rice malt or maple syrup and vanilla bean powder. Put on stove over medium heat and gently warm the milk until It’s hot full stop

Add tapioca paste and gently stir through with a spoon until the mixture thickens and just starts to boil. Remove from heat. Serve.

METHOD – APPLE AND SPICE PANCAKES

In large bowl add almond flour , cinnamon, apple spice mix, tapioca flour and baking powder. Whisk, using a metal whisk, to combine and remove lumps.

Add grated apple and stir through. Add eggs, apple cider vinegar and milk and mix until well combined.

Heat 1 tbsp coconut oil or ghee in large frypan over medium heat till hot.

Using a quarter cup measure, scoop batter into frypan and flatten to 1 cm thick circle. Cook until light golden then carefully flip and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes. If browning too quick, turn down heat a little.

You may need to flip the pancakes a third time to to make sure they are thoroughly cooked through. Pancakes should feel firm to the touch.

Once cooked transfer the pancakes to a paper towel lined plate and continue until all the pancakes are made.

ASSEMBLY

Put a stack of 2 to 3 pancakes in the centre of a plate. drizzle over some custard and top with top with some crushed walnuts, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some grated apple and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

NOTE

CASSAVA OR TAPIOCA: Cassava flour  can be purchased in some african stores as well as online. If they don’t have it ask them to get it in for you. It’s much cheaper than some of the other brands online. Tapioca can be found in supermarkets as well as asian and indian shops

ALMOND MILK: Make your own, it’s so much nicer and there are no nasties in it.  Try not to use long life it’s full of horrible things.

VANILLA BEAN POWDER : There is a shortage worldwide of Vanilla bean powder, so you can substitute with vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract.

MAKES 12 PANCAKES ( SERVES 4 TO 6)