Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

Mashed banana is one of my favourite ingredients to bake with. I love the natural, sweet caramel flavour it offers. Whatever it touches turns into a moist and magical morsel. And I am not the only one who feels this way. Mashed banana is loved by many. Add ‘banana’ to the name of a cake, bread or muffin, and people will squeal in delight. It is the life of the party, the friend who always brings the good dessert to dinner. So naturally, I like to invite my friend, mashed banana, to as many of my eating occasions as possible. The most recent event on my culinary calendar that warranted an invite was Oatmeal Pancakes. After making these delightful cakes from the pan two months ago, I pledged to invite mashed banana to the batter on my next try. So yesterday morning I sent out my invite and very soon after, there was a knock on the pan (read: door), and mashed banana made a welcome appearance in my Oatmeal Pancakes.

The recipe for Oatmeal Pancakes that I follow is here, on Molly Wizenberg's beautiful blog. I had to compensate after adding two, wet mashed bananas to the recipe, by adding in ~1/2 cup of flour. Honestly I didn’t put much thought into the ratios that were going in, I was simply after a good consistency. Next time I think I may be a bit more methodical, and weigh out some extra oats to add in along with the flour. I was able to just assemble and flip them, but they were a little too moist and unformed for my liking. I suppose that is the price I pay for inviting mashed banana to the party without clearing it with my other friends (read: ingredients) first.

But the flavour, oh the flavour! The mashed banana really took these pancakes to a completely different place. They were sweeter, more indulgent - even though bananas are super healthy - and just lovely. They tasted happy…Happy Oatmeal Banana Pancakes.

I topped them with raspberries for an additional sweet zing for the taste buds, and a dollop of natural yoghurt, which cut the overall sweetness nicely. I finished with a drizzle of pure maple syrup because, well, I wouldn’t dream of having pancakes without this heavenly sauce from the Gods of Yum.

Although I need to perfect the ratios before proclaiming my ultimate recipe, I really enjoyed this breakfast. I'm very excited about future Oatmeal Pancake Parties, where I’ll be sure to invite my bff, mashed banana. I’m guaranteed a happy time that way ;)

Heidi xo