A super thick and fluffy, giant, no flip, giant Vegan Blueberry Pancake that is melt in your mouth golden and bursting with juicy blueberries. Perfect for feeding a family without having to stand over the stove for ages!
2 cups / 250gall purpose flour , (use plain flour in the UK)
2tablespoons baking powder
2tablespoons sugar
¾teaspoonfine salt
1½ cups / 360 mlsmilk of choice, unsweetened
2teaspoonsapple cider vinegar
4teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup / 60mlsmelted vegan butter , butter gives the best flavour but any other neutral tasting oil or melted coconut oil can be used instead (see notes for oil-free option). Plus more for cooking the pancake.
1 heaping cup / 150gblueberries , fresh or frozen (if frozen do not defrost - see note)
Instructions
To a large mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Whisk them together to combine.
In another smaller bowl, add the milk, vinegar, vanilla and melted butter. Whisk them together to combine.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir them together. Do not over mix or beat it really hard. Stir gently until you can no longer see any dried flour. A few small lumps are ok.
Pour in the blueberries and fold them through the batter gently. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 °F (190 °C).
Warm an oven proof non-stick approximately 9 inch diameter frying pan (at least 1.5 inch deep) or well seasoned skillet (it must be a pan that you know will not stick) over a medium heat and add enough vegan butter (or oil) to coat the bottom and sides. Swish it all around and up the sides of the pan. See the recipe notes below for sheet pan and cake pan instructions and for tips regarding skillets of other sizes.
Once the pan is nice and hot pour in the pancake batter and flatten out the top with a spatula. Set a timer for 5 minutes. The aim is to get the bottom really nicely golden and caramelized. By the end of the 5 minutes it will be starting to set up around the edges. In the last 2 minutes, use a spatula to gently loosen it around the edges and shake the pan gently back and forth a little to loosen the pancake on the bottom.
Once it has cooked for 5 minutes, turn off the burner and place the pan in the oven. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the pancake is completely set on top and a tooth pick inserted comes out clean (except for maybe a little blueberry juice).
Remove from the oven and very carefully turn the pancake out onto a large plate. To do this use oven gloves or a dish towel to protect your hands and place a plate over the top of the pan, carefully invert the pan over the plate and the pancake should slip out easily.
Slice into portions and top with vegan butter and maple syrup or other toppings of choice.
Video
Notes
The batter ingredients can also be mixed on slow in a blender until just combined, but the finished pancake won't be quite as tender and fluffy. Sometimes convenience wins though, right?!
If using frozen blueberries - take straight out of freezer and do not thaw. Break up any clumps with your fingers and add to the batter. Do minimal stirring. Do not over stir as they will start defrosting and bleed into the batter. Blue pancakes aren't so attractive!
How to make oil-free
This pancake can be made oil-free. There are 2 options:
Simply omit the vegan butter and use an extra ¼ cup of milk instead. The texture will not be as good as when made with oil.
Replace the vegan butter with ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) of runny cashew butter. You will need to blend the cashew butter with the milk before you start. You will also need to use 2 tablespoons of extra milk to make up for the loss of liquid.
ALTERNATIVE FLOURSI have not tested this recipe with any alternative flours but I am pretty sure spelt flour would work well. I would recommend weighing it rather than using cup measurements to make sure you get exactly the right amount though. Reader Maureen has also tried white wholewheat flour and says that it works really well. PAN SIZEI used a 9 inch diameter cast iron pan that is 1.5 inch deep. A pan of that size will hold this recipe just comfortably. An 8 inch pan that is at least 2 inches deep will also be ok.If your pan is larger I suggest scaling the recipe up to fill it better so the pancake doesn't end up too thin. If using a 10 inch pan you will need to multiply all the ingredient quantities by 1.25 to get a good depth and more or less fill the pan. You will also need to add on a few minutes extra cooking time. So for example, 2 cups of flour x 1.25 = 2.5 cups. Don't forget to do the same with the other ingredients. If using a 12 inch pan you will need to multiply all the ingredient quantities by 1.75 to get a good depth and more or less fill the pan. You will also need to add on a few minutes extra cooking time. So for example, 2 cups of flour x 1.75 = 3.5 cups of flour. Don't forget to do the same with the other ingredients. If you don't have an oven proof skillet or frying pan you can cook this pancake in a cake pan or on a baking tray so you get sheet pancakes. Please note that you won't get the beautiful caramelized bottom though. Here's how:To cook on a baking tray - Line a 13 inch x 9 inch quarter sheet pan with baking parchment. Pour in the batter, spread it out evenly with a spatula then palce in the preheated oven 375 °F for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into it comes out clean. To cook in a cake pan - Line the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan with a circle of parchment paper and grease the sides well. pour in the batter, level it out with a spatula and bake in an oven preheated to 375 ° F for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Success Tips
Follow the recipe closely and as always with recipes involving flour, I highly recommend that you use a kitchen scale. Cup measurements are not accurate enough to get the best and consistent results. Digital kitchen scales are available at most big superstores now and you can pick one up for around $10. They are a great investment and are so worth having! If you do need to use cups, spoon the flour into the cup then level off the top with a knife without compacting it or shaking it down. By doing it like this you will get roughly the correct amount and make your chances of success better. Do not scoop the flour up into the cup as you will end up with much more than intended and it will affect the outcome of the recipe.
For perfect fluffy pancakes, do not over mix the batter. If you do you will end up with not so fluffy, tough pancakes. Just mix it until you can't see any dry flour. A few small lumps are ok.
Don't reduce the baking powder. It might seem a lot, but when you remove eggs from a recipe you lose some of their leavening power. The extra baking powder in this recipe makes up for that and will make your pancakes super-duper soft and fluffy.
Usually when making blueberry pancakes I would advise adding the blueberries after the batter has gone into the pan, but because this pancake is so thick, and because we want bursty, caramelized blueberries all across the bottom, which will become the top, it is bet to stir them through the batter for this recipe.
Use your best non-stick pan but make sure it is oven safe, or use a really good cast iron skillet that is very well seasoned.
Let the pancake cook in the pan on the stove top for long enough to get a lovely golden, caramelized bottom. That bottom will become the top when you turn it out to serve so we want it nice and pretty!
Don't even try to flip this pancake. It is too big. Start it on the stove top, then finish it in the oven. It doesn't take long at all and it makes life so much easier.