Gluten-Free Buttermilk pancakes with blueberries and maple syrup

My idea of an ideal brunch is to have a pile of buttermilk pancakes; all to myself!

I load the plate with fresh berries however, my version of a ‘drizzle’ of maple syrup or honey (depending on my mood) is so heavy-handed that I fear for my calorie intake for that meal. Perhaps it’s just as well that I don’t have the time to make these pancakes as regularly as I’d like!

Derek and I have recently discovered the chef Simon Hopkinson on BBC Good Food. I think Derek likes him because they both cook like Frenchmen; lashings of butter & salt in everything. Simon made the most divine pancakes recently, filled with crème pâtissière and with a rum sauce. Not quite for breakfast but a brilliant way to finish a dinner party. I’m looking forward to trying the recipe in a gluten free version on my Delicious Derek for Valentine’s.

In the meantime, let’s be a little bit healthy for pancake Tuesday and start the day with these nice, quick to make pancakes. And, oh, by the way – easy on the maple syrup!!

If you don’t feel like blending the flour yourself, pop on to http://www.delicious.ie/shop and pick up a bag of it!

Ingredients

150g (6oz) Denise’s Delicious flour blend

1 tablespoon GF baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons caster sugar

2 large eggs

390ml (13floz) buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter/margarine to grease pan

To serve:

175g (7oz) blueberries

Maple syrup

Method

1. Preheat the griddle pan (or heavy-based frying pan).
2. Sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and stir in the sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk and add the buttermilk and vanilla extract and whisk until fully combined.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg mixture. Using a whisk, beat well.
5. Melt butter/margarine in preheated pan and pour some batter into the centre of pan. Tilt the pan to spread the batter until pancake is approximately 10–12cm/4–4½in in diameter.
6. When batter has set, flip pancake using a palette knife or fish slice, and brown on the other sides. Repeat until all the pancakes are cooked.
7. Serve warm with fresh blueberries and maple syrup.