Fluffy Brown-Butter Banana Pancakes

⏱ 30 min · Serves 4

Soft, cloud-light pancakes with sweet ripe banana folded through the batter and a nutty brown-butter background note. They're thick enough to stack high, and the caramelised banana slices on top make them feel like a weekend treat even on a Tuesday.

Per serving: 610 kcal · 14.0g protein · 86.0g carbs · 24.0g fat

Ingredients

• 60g unsalted butter
• 250g plain flour
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 280ml buttermilk (or 280ml milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice, left 5 min)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 ripe bananas (2 mashed, 1 sliced)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, for the pan
• Maple syrup and toasted pecans, to serve

Method

1. Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat and cook, swirling, for 3-4 minutes until it smells nutty and the milk solids turn golden. Pour into a bowl and cool slightly.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon.
3. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and the brown butter (save 1 tsp for frying the bananas). Stir in the 2 mashed bananas.
4. Pour the wet mix into the dry and fold with a spatula just until combined - lumps are good. Rest the batter for 5 minutes while the pan heats.
5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat with a little oil, wiping out the excess. Drop in ladlefuls of batter, about 1/4 cup each, spacing them apart.
6. Cook for 2-3 minutes until bubbles appear on the surface and the edges look set, then flip and cook 1-2 minutes more until golden and springy. Keep warm on a plate under foil while you cook the rest.
7. Wipe the pan, add the reserved brown butter and fry the banana slices for 1 minute per side until glossy and caramelised.
8. Stack the pancakes, top with the fried bananas, toasted pecans and a generous pour of maple syrup.