200g / 1½cupsflour, all-purpose (plain in the UK), spelt or wholewheat
2tablespoonscoconut sugar or brown sugar
1tablespoonbaking powder
¼teaspoonbaking soda, (bicarbonate of soda in the UK)
½teaspoonfine salt
1teaspoonground cinnamon, or pumpkin spice or allspice
300 mls / 1¼cupunsweetened non-dairy milk
85g / ⅓packed cupcooked and cooled orange sweet potato, or yam or pumpkin
2tablespoons + 1 teaspoonoil or melted vegan butter, plus a bit more for the pan when cooking them
1tablespoonground flaxseed
1teaspoonapple cider vinegar, or lemon juice
1teaspoonvanilla extract
For the caramel sauce
75g / ½cupcoconut sugar or brown sugar
30 mls / 2tablespoonswater
½teaspoonsalt
2tablespoonscashew or almond butter, or seed butter for nut-free
128g / ½ packed cupcooked orange sweet potato/yam
30 - 60 mls / ⅛ - ¼cupnon-dairy milk, adjust depending how thick you want the sauce
¼teaspoonground cinnamon, or pumpkin spice or allspice (use whatever you put in the pancake batter).
Instructions
Add the flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon to a bowl and mix together to combine.
Add the milk, sweet potato, vegan butter, flax, vinegar and vanilla extract to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and mix gently together. Just stir until you cannot see any dry flour. Do not over-beat it or use the blender. Let rest while you make the caramel sauce.
Make the caramel sauce while the batter rests. In a small saucepan add the sugar and water and heat over medium heat until it is liquid and you cannot see any grains of sugar. It will only take a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat.
Rinse the blender out and add the sweet potato, nut butter, salt, half the milk and the cinnamon. Pour in the melted sugar mixture and blend everything up until completely smooth. Add extra milk to thin to desired drizzling consistency. Return to the pan and warm gently for a few minutes before serving with the pancakes.
Heat a griddle or skillet/frying pan over medium-low heat. Add a little vegan butter or oil or if it's non-stick you can cook them without oil if you want to.
Scoop the batter onto the griddle/pan. Leave well alone until the edges are looking firm and the top is starting to bubble. It takes about 5 to 6 minutes. Don't rush them. The trick with vegan pancakes is to let them cook fairly slowly. Flip then cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until golden.
Serve drizzled with the warm caramel sauce.
Video
Notes
Success Tips
It's important to cook vegan pancakes slowly for optimum fluff, so don't have the heat too high.
Weighing the flour will give you the best and most consistent results. If you have to use cups do not scoop the flour up into the cup. Fluff it up with a fork then spoon gently into the cup and level the top without shaking or compacting it down. Scooping the flour will give you up to a ⅓ more flour that is intended.
It is really important to mix the pancake batter until just combined. Don't go mad and blend it all together or beat it like mad. When you mix too well, it activates the gluten and you will end up with not so fluffy and light pancakes. The trick is to mix until the flour is just combined and you can't see any dry bits. Then stop, and lay down that spoon. Pancake perfection is imminent!
Vegan Pancake batter is often thicker than pancake batter with eggs. As long as you've measured the flour and other ingredients correctly you will be fine. Don't add any more liquid or your pancakes won't be as thick and fluffy as they should and you might get soggy insides.
To make oil-free - Some fat is important for a good fluffy texture but you can use nut or seed butter instead of the vegan butter/oil. Cashew or almond butter works really well flavour-wise.