Nutella pancakes are all sorts of chocolatey goodness and are pretty balanced breakfast especially topped with some berries but they taste just like dessert.

Nutella pancakes

The covers are ripped off me violently.

Well as violently as a 2.5 year old can rip off the covers.

My eye mask (which I wear to stop my eyes drying out because I sleep with one eye a bit open – yes I’m weird) is pulled back and snapped back into my face just in case the covers being ripped off didn’t quite wake me up.

You might like to try this homemade pancake recipe.

Then a little face meets mine.

‘Mummy, wake up it’s morning time. You have to get up and make me pancakes.’

A few years ago, this was often how my day started.

Now I know I’m a big advocate of getting up before the kids and getting a head start (or actually exercising) but there was a time there where I was staying up a bit too late and hanging out in bed until one of the kids woke up.

You might want to try this dairy and gluten free maple pumpkin pancakes.

I’m much better at it these days though. I know just how much I benefit from that bit of alone time before everyone wakes up.

The request for pancakes on the other hand, hasn’t changed and I don’t think will be changing any time soon.

I can’t say I mind that much.

It saves me having to think of breakfast ideas and they both eat them.

It does stint my creativity a little but I’m not one to back down from a food challenge of course so I have quite a few healthy pancake recipes up my sleeve (quite a few of which appear in my nutritionist friend Shannon and my eBook Crawler Cuisine to Toddler Tucker).

I try to make them with lots of goodness which means mixing up the flours that I use – buckwheat, spelt, coconut and nut meals are favourites – and using fruit or veggies, like in my pumpkin pancakes, to sweeten them.

My latest creation – nutella pancakes.

They’re all sorts of chocolatey goodness and I may sneak a few myself.

Ok I have them for breakfast sometimes too but they’re actually a pretty balanced breakfast especially topped with some berries.

Having made more pancakes than I can even begin to count this year, I have come up with some top tips for perfecting them.

Tips for perfect pancakes

• Make a test pancake – I always cook one in the middle of the pan to test the consistency of the batter and check the heat of the pan. If that one turns our well then I’m good to go.
• Wait until bubbles appear, pop and stay popped before flipping then just cook for a minute or so on the other side.
• Keep the cooked pancakes on a napkin or a few sheets of paper towel while you’re cooking the rest so they don’t sweat and go soggy.
• You can freeze pancakes. It’s best to put a bit of baking paper between each one so they don’t stick or you can freeze them on a tray then pop them into a ziplick bag once they’re frozen.

Nutella pancakes

Yield: 20 mini pancakes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• 2 medium, very ripe bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup hazelnut meal
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• Coconut milk (or milk if dairy is ok)

Instructions

1. Mix the bananas and eggs together in a bowl then add the hazelnut meal, vanilla and raw cacao and stir until smooth.
2. If the batter is too thick (depends on the size of your bananas), add a little bit of coconut milk.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. If your pan is not non-stick, add some butter or coconut oil and melt it.
4. Use a tablespoon of batter per pancake and cook until bubbles appear and pop then flip and cook for a few minutes on the other side.