When you have a free morning, the most gratifying experience can be a long breakfast preparation. You take the time to create a full spread for yourself because the rest of your mornings are spent in a hurry. There’s no need to shove food in your face as you run out the door. Nay, you leisurely make your way through the morning, sipping some coffee or tea before you even start food preparation.
After soaking up the morning, it’s time to prepare your meal. You can easily head down the unhealthy rabbit hole of greasy foods that raise blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Don’t go that route; rather, take the time to prepare a healthier rendition of a breakfast classic. We are, of course, talking about the short stack. Something about a tower of flapjacks makes you want to salivate. You can taste the fluffiness of the pancakes that soak up maple syrup. These pancakes have a different texture, given that they are made with quinoa, almond meal, and flaxseed meal. The coconut and banana, combined with the mixed berry topping, make these pancakes something straight out of a cooking show. They are seriously that delicious and we hope you love them, even though are a bit labor-intensive. When food takes a long time to make, though, it tastes that much better because you made it!
- Prep Time:20m
- Cook Time:15m
- Total Time:35m
- Serves: 3 servings
- Category: Breakfast, Vegan, Vegetarian
Ingredients
Quinoa breakfast cakes
- 2 1/2 tbsp. melted extra virgin coconut oil, divided + extra for the pan
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1/2 c quinoa, rinsed
- 1 c unsweetened oat milk
- 2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 c whole spelt flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tbsp. coconut palm sugar (or demerara, evaporated cane etc)
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 1/2 c almond meal
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 bananas, sliced and divided
- 2 tbsp. cacao nibs + extra
Instructions
- The first step is to cook the quinoa. In a small saucepan over medium heat, drop a 1/2 tbsp of the coconut oil. Let it warm for about 30 seconds before adding a pinch of cinnamon.
- Stir that mixture until fragrant, and then add the rinsed and drained quinoa and a pinch of sea salt. Stir it around in the oil a bit so it can toast.
- Stir that mixture until fragrant, and then add the rinsed and drained quinoa and a pinch of sea salt. Stir it around in the oil a bit so it can toast.
- Add a scant cup of water to the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. You want the quinoa to be cooked, but kind of crunchy too. Drain off excess liquid and cool quinoa completely.
- Add a scant cup of water to the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. You want the quinoa to be cooked, but kind of crunchy too. Drain off excess liquid and cool quinoa completely.
- In a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice and the milk and set aside for 5 minutes so that it can curdle/lump up. Don't worry, it's not going bad!
- In a medium bowl, combine the spelt flour, baking powder, baking soda, coconut sugar and sea salt and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Combine the almond meal, vanilla extract, remaining coconut oil, and curdled milk in the blender. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth (this should take about one minute). Scrape this mixture into the bowl with the spelt flour. Gently fold it all together with a spatula until thoroughly combined.
- Combine the almond meal, vanilla extract, remaining coconut oil, and curdled milk in the blender. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth (this should take about one minute). Scrape this mixture into the bowl with the spelt flour. Gently fold it all together with a spatula until thoroughly combined.
- Finally, add the cooled quinoa and fold it in until it’s evenly mixed. This is your batter.
- Finally, add the cooled quinoa and fold it in until it’s evenly mixed. This is your batter.
- Heat a large sauté pan or griddle over medium. Brush with melted coconut oil. Drop 1/4-1/3 cup of batter onto the pan. Spread the batter out a bit with a spatula or the bottom of the measuring cup. The amount of pancakes you can make will depend on the size of your pan.
- Press banana slices onto the top of the cakes and sprinkle with cacao nibs. Once bubbles start to form on top and the bottom is golden, flip them over.
- Press banana slices onto the top of the cakes and sprinkle with cacao nibs. Once bubbles start to form on top and the bottom is golden, flip them over.
- Continue to cook until bottom side is golden/dry. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked cakes warm as you go along.
- Continue to cook until bottom side is golden/dry. Repeat with remaining batter, keeping cooked cakes warm as you go along.
- Serve pancakes with extra sliced bananas + cacao nibs, maple syrup and mixed berries.
Notes
Blend everything except the spelt flour, salt, sugar and leavening agents to really smooth out the almond flour. That’s an optional step. Also, making the quinoa up the night before would cut down on prep time considerably if you’re planning on maximal chill times on a Sunday or some such thing. If you eat eggs, you could certainly add a whisked one to the batter for some extra leavening power.
