Simon asked for coffee, and Clary, after a moment’s hesitation, chose a large coffee and coconut pancakes. The waitress winked a blue eye at her and flounced off.
-City of Bones; The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare
Coconut flour, like almond meal, can be a challenge when baking. Its extra protein results in a very moist and therefore denser consistency, and quite often you desperately wish you could use an air pump to make it rise!
My original batch of coconut pancakes was made purely with coconut flour. It fell apart when cooked, resulting in a crumbled heap. It definitely needed more oomph, so I added self raising flour–gluten free in this case. With or without the extra flour, there are two things you absolutely need to get the “puff” happening. One is bicarb/baking soda. And the second, stiffly whisked egg whites.
- 4 egg yolks
- 4 egg whites, room temp *
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup coconut flour **
- 1 cup self raising flour
- ½ tsp bicarb soda
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- ¼ cup white sugar
- In a mixer, begin by whisking egg whites until they become a thick foam. Add in the white sugar and continue whisking until combined.
- In another bowl, mix together the egg yolks, milk, coconut flour, self raising flour, bicarb soda and vanilla essence. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the flour mixture in and mix until just combined and let sit for a few minutes as you heat your pan.
- Once your pan is hot, turn down to medium heat and pour a circle of batter of about 10 cm in diameter. When the batter begins to show bubbles and a spatula can be slid under the batter (~2 minutes), use the spatula and flip over. Cook another 2 minutes and serve with a slab of butter.
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